Nine lives, remember?
by Whooptiedoo
Summary: With it being the end of the world and all, it wasn't exactly a great place to find love. But no one said it was impossible..
1. Chapter 1: A pleasant surprise

**Alright, so this is my first fanfiction ever. I absolutely love The Walking Dead, and especially Caryl. So please tell me if it was good, any tips are more than welcome! Also, English isn't my native language, so if you find any mistakes, please tell me.**

**Rated M for cursing, and smut in later chapters. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon, Carol Peletier or any other character of the series or comics. **

**Oh, and one more thing.. Please enjoy! :) Megan**

* * *

"Say what now?!" Daryl growled angrily.

"You're telling us we're ALL infected?!" T-Dog asked, his eyes widened with shock.

Rick sighed. "I know, I should've told y'all sooner."

"Yeah, ya should. So why didn't ya, huh?" The hunter barked.

They had been driving non-stop since they had to leave the farm, but now they had stopped to discuss what their next step would be. It was then that the cop decided to tell them about the infection.

Everyone stared at Rick in disbelief. He cleared his throat, opened his mouth, and then shut it again, not knowing what to say.

"So.. we're all becoming walkers?" they heard a small voice say. Carl stepped up from behind Carol.

Carol.. She looked so scared. Daryl couldn't stand it, and for some reason he felt like he needed to comfort her. When she caught his gaze, he gave her a quick nod before looking back to Rick.

"Well.. Eventually, yes. I think so. Unless someone, somewhere finds a cure in time. Or, you know.." Rick swallowed, looking at his gun. The boy smiled at his father, "I'm sure they'll find a cure, dad." The cop smiled back, clearly relieved by his answer.

Daryl let out a sarcastic chuckle, but said nothing. Lori shot him a warning look, and he shrugged. Stupid bitch. He knows she's a mother, but not of the whole fucking group. He had never really liked the woman, but she was the wife of his best friend, so he had decided to just ignore her instead of fuss about it.

Everyone was quiet for a few seconds, before they saw a stray walker stumbling out of the woods, moaning softly. Beth let out a small squeal in surprise, which caused it to turn around in their direction. It started growling and reached out for them with its rotten fingers, eager to get to its meal. It didn't get far before an arrow struck its left eye though, and it dropped onto the ground with a small thud.

Daryl looked annoyed as he went for his arrow, holding the head at its place with his boot as he pulled it out. "Yer' a nasty-smellin' son of a bitch," he mumbled, before turning around, seeing how everyone stood there, watching him.

"What are y'all lookin' at? Y'all wanna wait 'round for other geeks tryna eat us?"

Hershel cleared his throat. "He's right. We gotta move, find something safe for the night." Everyone nodded in agreement. "So what's the plan?" Lori asked. Glenn spoke up, "Let's just drive around until we find a house or something, we can spend the night there and look for a more permanent place in the morning. I'm fucking exhausted."

"All right then. Let's go." Rick answered, and everyone got back to their cars.

Daryl swung his crossbow back over his shoulder and walked over to his bike. As he saw Carol looking around not sure of what to do, his lips formed into a small smile.

"Ya comin' or what?" She looked up and hurried towards him, sending him a thankful smile. He liked it when she smiled at him, although she hadn't done it much since.. since Sophia.

Daryl swallowed. He was still mad at himself for failing her and Carol, he was so close.. And then that asshole Shane went all fucking crazy and opened up the barn, and all those geeks came out.. And Sophia. He was too late and there was nothing he could do about that.

He shook off his thoughts, strapped his crossbow to the back of the bike carefully, and swung his leg over the shaft. She quickly climbed onto the bike as well and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly.

He touched her hand for a second before looking at her face in one of the mirrors, "Ya good?" She shifted a little before nodding at him.

"Hold on then." He said, feeling her tighten her grip even more. He revved up the engine and they drove off as the cars followed.

* * *

They had been driving for a while now, seeing nothing but trees. They needed to find a town, but he had no idea where they were. Daryl looked down at her hands, which were mindlessly playing with the edges of his shirt. It kind of tickled as her fingers brushed past his skin. The woman even had her head rested against his back. He shivered slightly, but decided he wouldn't disturb her thoughts.

Instead he looked around him, trying to see any buildings over the treetops. Still nothing. But luckily, after a few minutes a large building appeared in the distance, and he sighed in relief. He hadn't noticed until now, but he was really tired. It seemed like a large office building, and Daryl stopped at the side of the road. Rick pulled up next to him and rolled his window down.

"Ya wanna check it out?" Daryl grumbled. "Seems pretty great if it's not crowded with walkers. Just stay alert, okay?" Rick answered, and he drove off.

Before he followed the others, Daryl looked behind him at Carol and said, "When we get there, ya stay behind me, ya hear me? I don't want ya gettin' hurt or

anythin'."

Carol threw him a surprised look, but nodded and said, "Yeah, okay." He was satisfied with that answer, and they continued their way.

* * *

When they arrived, there were only a few walkers staggering around. They were taken down quickly by Glenn and Daryl, while Carol stayed on the back of the bike as promised.

When all the guys but Hershel went inside to clear the rest of the building out, she decided it was safe and got off. While she walked over to the rest of the group, her thoughts wandered off to Daryl.

He had saved her last night, and she couldn't be more grateful for that. She saw Andrea being taken down by walkers, and at that moment she was sure she'd be too. She tried to run, but there were just too many. They were literally everywhere.

And then Daryl suddenly showed up with his bike, and she saw the fear in his eyes. She knew he cared for the group, even though he barely ever showed it. But she'd never expected to see him scared like that. She had heard him mumble, "It's okay. Everything will be fine. You're okay. You're safe," to her once they drove away from the farm.

Throughout the day she had grown more tired, so she had decided to rest her head against his back. She felt his body stiffen, but he had relaxed pretty soon.

She never realized how nice he smelled until then. But then again, he hadn't really smelled him ever before.

She giggled at the thought of her secretly sniffing him when he wasn't looking. When she noticed the strange looks Lori and Maggie gave her, she quickly wiped the smile off her face.

"I really wish I could take a long, hot shower now.." Lori sighed. Carol wanted to say something, but at that moment she heard a short whistle coming from the building. They all turned around to see Daryl giving them a thumbs up. He had a huge smile on his face, which was rare. So something told her that whatever was in there, had to be pretty amazing.

They took the few supplies they managed to take from the farm out of the car, and followed Daryl inside. As soon as they got in, everyone let out cries of joy. Rick and Glenn came walking towards them, also smiling.

"Can you believe it? A fucking furniture store!" Maggie cheered. "Oh my god Rick, this is fantastic!" said Lori as jumped in her husband's arms. Everyone was ecstatic.

Carol looked around and smiled. This is almost too good to be true. There were even a few actual rooms, to serve as an example for customers. There was a beds section, a living room section, a dining room section..

If they could gather some food and supplies, it would be a pretty great place to stay. There are no windows, so walkers couldn't spot them easily. And they could lock the door from the inside, so that no one could sneak up on them. She jumped when a low, familiar voice disturbed her thoughts.

She looked up into the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. They weren't as blue as hers, but a bit darker. It suited Daryl, kind of matched his personality, somehow. A bit dark, but still really nice if you looked a little deeper.

"Didn't mean to scare ya. I said, pretty good place huh?" He grinned. She smiled and nodded. "Absolutely! We can finally sleep in real beds again.. And luckily we've got plenty of blankets and sheets now, because I left my pajamas and spare clothes at the farm.."

Was it just her, or did he blush when she said that? He suddenly looked somewhat shy, gave her a quick nod and rushed off, leaving her slightly confused. Well.. that was odd. But then again, it wasn't the first time he was acting strange around her, so she decided not to think anything of it. She guessed Daryl was just not that good in conversations.

She walked around the huge store, and heard two muffled voices as she walked past one of the example rooms.

"Glenn, I want to be near my father and Beth tonight!"

"But.. Then we can't.. you know.." She heard Glenn mutter.

She heard a loud sigh, guessing it was Maggie. "Is that all you think about?"

"Oh come on Mag, don't pretend _you _didn't think about it when you saw all these heavenly beds?"

"Well.." A short giggle. "Alright. I guess daddy and Beth are safe enough here." She heard the young girl say.

She smirked. She was really glad for the youngsters that they had found eachother. With it being the end of the world and all, it wasn't exactly a great place to find love. But then again, it wasn't impossible either, Maggie and Glenn had proved that.


	2. Chapter 2: Tampons and Maxi Pads

**Thanks everyone for the sweet reviews! I'm glad you all like it so far. :) I hope this second chapter is what you expected. I can understand if it's still kind of boring right now, but I promise there'll be more action soon! Megan**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any characters.**

* * *

Why the fuck did he blush?! Dixons never blush, damnit. But it was just.. As soon as he thought of her, alone in bed, not wearing anything but her underwear.. Wait, no, what the hell? Stop picturing her naked, ya fuckin' fool.

He slumped down onto the couch he had claimed. Rick, Lori and Carl had chosen one of the example rooms with a huge kingsize bed, Glenn and Maggie also shared a room, and Hershel and Beth as well.

That left T-Dog, Carol and himself to choose between the beds and couches that were spread throughout the store. He knew a bed would probably be more comfortable, but this way he could be closer to Carol, so keeping an eye on her would be easier.

He wasn't really sure why, but he felt like he needed to protect the woman. Lori and Carl had Rick, Maggie had Glenn, Beth had Hershel, T-Dog and Andrea used to have eachother.. That left Carol to him.

Besides, the woman had no idea how to protect herself. If he didn't, she probably would've been killed a long time ago. He shivered involuntarily at that thought. There was no way he was ever going to let that happen.

He laid down onto his back, arms behind his head, and let out a deep sigh. From the corner of his eye he saw Carol tossing and turning in her bed, apparently he wasn't the only one who had trouble sleeping.

His stomach grumbled, and he knew he had to hunt tomorrow. The women had managed to grab some bread from the countertop before they left, but it was nowhere near enough for anyone to be full. Everyone was tired from spending the past night and day on the road, and so they all went to bed early.

A loud sigh. "Daryl?"

He looked up immediately. "Ya alright?"

"Can't sleep." He sat up as Carol walked towards him and slumped down next to him. She wrapped her arms around her waist and continued, "I can't stop thinking about Andrea, and Patricia.. It's just.. I don't know."

He stared at the ground for a moment trying to think of something to say, before looking up to her and seeing tears welling up in her eyes. Oh shit, comforting crying women isn't exactly his specialty. He patted her knee awkwardly and mumbled, "There, there."

Carol looked surprised at first, but then her lips formed into a smile. Well, at least someone enjoyed his awkwardness.. She grabbed his arm before he could pull away, and her eyes became serious. "I want to learn how to use a gun."

Daryl snorted and pulled his arm free. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious Daryl. I want to be able to protect the others. And myself ofcourse. I know I'm a burden and I don't want that anymore."

Now it was his turn to look surprised. A burden? Did she really think she was a burden?

He realized he hadn't answered her yet when she continued, "So? Will you teach me?"

Oh, what the hell. "Alright, we start tomorrow. Now get some sleep woman, or else I won't teach yer' stubborn ass anythin'"

Knowing he meant what he said, she got up quickly and rushed to her bed. Halfway down the store she turned around though, and came back.

"What?!" Daryl growled.

"Thanks."

* * *

I'm going to learn how to shoot. It was the first thing that came to mind after she woke up. She'd never actually expected him to say yes, so when he did it really surprised her.

She thought of last night's conversation, and a small smile appeared on her face. He had obviously never handled a woman in tears before, but in a way, how he tried to comfort her was really adorable.

She sat up and cracked her neck. As she looked around, she noticed a few members of the group had already gathered in one of the dining rooms. She glanced over at Daryl's couch, but it was empty. His crossbow was gone as well, so she figured he had gone hunting.

She yawned and got out of bed. She got dressed quickly and walked over to the others.

"Good morning." Rick smiled at her. "We don't have any breakfast, but Daryl should be back soon."

"Rick, we also need water. Where are we going to find that?" Lori asked. "I'm so thirsty, I feel like could drink a whole lake."

"Oh my god.." Glenn's eyes widened, and he stormed off.

Carol threw a surprised look at Maggie, but the girl chuckled and said, "I don't know what that's supposed to mean."

Rick stared at the wall where Glenn had disappeared behind for a second, shook his head and turned back to Lori. "I know. When Daryl gets back, he, Glenn and I will search the town for any supplies or food. Maybe it's not ransacked yet."

She looked down at her dirty clothes for a second, and said, "I'm coming with you."

"Like hell ya are!" Daryl dropped four squirrels and a rabbit onto the table, and rested his hands on his hips as he watched her.

She turned around to face him, crossed her arms, and tilted her head a little as she looked him in the eyes. "Why not?"

"Ya can't even protect yerself. And besides, why would ya?"

Yet. I can't protect myself _yet_, she thought, thinking about her first shooting lesson later today. "Everyone needs clothes. I'm pretty sure I'm better at sizes than you guys."

Rick looked at her. "Daryl's right, Carol. It's not safe."

Suddenly, Beth mumbled something, staring at the ground insecurely. Everyone looked at the girl. "What did you say honey?" Hershel asked.

"I'm on my period.." The girl repeated, a little louder. "I need tampons. Or maxi pads, or something like that."

"Oh my god.." Daryl grumbled. "Alright, Carol and I will go look for the damn clothes and tampons."

Rick grinned. "Alright, I'll just take T-Dog instead. Okay?" T-Dog nodded, "Sure."

"Great. Now where the hell is Glenn?" Daryl grunted. Just as he turned around, they heard the Asian guy screaming.

"Fuck!"

Everyone ran towards the sound, scared of what they might run into. At the same time, Glenn busted out of a door that said 'Staff only'.

"Running water! We've got running water! I can't believe nobody thought of checking the only kitchen that's actually connected!" He cheered.

When everyone realized what he was talking about, they all sighed in relief.

"That's great!" Rick smiled. "Now turn off that tap and get over here, we're gonna find us some supplies."


	3. Chapter 3: Not on my watch

**Again, thank you all so much for all the lovely reviews! Since this is the first story I've ever written, I didn't expect so many people to like it. You guys are great!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the characters.**

* * *

"I can't believe we're going fucking tampon shopping in the middle of a zombie apocalypse." Daryl said, shaking his head as he started the jeep. He had wanted to take the bike, but Carol had convinced him that a car was more convenient with all the clothes they had to bring back.

Carol grinned, but said nothing. Her fingers were tracing the blade of the knife Daryl had given her. "Just in case," he had mumbled. He didn't expect her to use it, but thought it maybe made her feel safer than with no weapon at all.

As they drove through the small town, following the other car, they only saw a few walkers stumbling around. "Alright. When we get there, ya stay in the car okay? Lemme get rid of them geeks first. I'll let ya know when it's safe."

"I will. Just be careful." Carol answered.

They went around a corner and spotted a few stores and a pharmacy. Daryl counted just seven walkers. Together with Rick, Glenn and T-Dog, it was a piece of cake. The cars stopped and the men got out. He took the first one out with his crossbow, and in the meantime the others had also killed three.

He watched as T-Dog tripped over a severed head, and shot an arrow right between the eyes of the walker that was about to rip a chunk of flesh from the man's shoulder. Rick finished off the last one.

The last one? Didn't he count seven?

At that moment they heard a blood curdling scream come from the car.

* * *

Shit. She thought she saw Rick kill the last walker, so she decided to get out of the jeep. As soon as she opened the door she heard the moaning, but it was already too late to close it. Cold, rotten fingers had grabbed her arm, and tried to pull her towards their owner.

She threw herself back and kicked it with her boots, but it just kept coming. She screamed as she kicked the thing onceagain and its jaw suddenly fell right onto her lap, splattering blood all over her. The good thing was it couldn't bite her anymore, but it could still rip her open like one of those walkers did to Dale.

She heard Daryl scream, but couldn't make out any words. "Help me!" she cried out.

"Knife!" she heard. Shit, where the hell did that knife go? She was holding the walkers arms as they tried to get to her flesh, but she needed at least one hand to search for the knife.

She kicked it again with everything she had, and it stumbled backwards. As fast as she could she grabbed the knife from under the seat, and slammed it right in the eye before he could grab her again.

It fell down on her immediately, and she started screaming once more, trying to kick it off. Right at that moment Daryl pulled the dead thing off of her and pressed his hand against her mouth.

"Shut it, woman! Ya wanna draw any more of those fuckers towards us?" he hissed. "I told ya to stay in the damn car!"

As he saw the shocked look in her eyes and the tears on her cheeks, he quickly pulled his hand back. He looked around, raised his hand to the other men to let them know she's okay, and looked back at her. "Move over."

She did as he said, sobbing quietly. He got in the jeep next to her and closed the door. He watched Rick, Glenn and T-Dog disappear in one of the stores, and turned to her.

"Ya bit? Scratched?"

She shook her head as she looked up to him. "I- I don't think so." She whispered.

"Come here, lemme see." He said softly. His voice surprised her, he didn't sound as.. angry as usual.

He gently raised her shirt a little, looking for any scratches or bite marks . Instead he saw dozens of scars, all shapes and sizes. She winced a little as his finger slowly traced one on her side. She knew he knew how she got those, and saw the anger growing inside him. "Fucking asshole", he mumbled.

She had stopped sobbing, but a single tear rolled down her cheeks as she stared at him with a blank face. To her surprise, he wiped it away with his thumb.

He turned slightly red, and quickly checked the rest of her body.

"Yer' fine. Now let's go get those tampons, 'kay?"

Oh right, the tampons. She had forgotten all about those. Daryl got out the car first, and then helped her out. He held his hand on her back when they stepped into the pharmacy, as if she'd just fall over when he wasn't paying attention.

"Now let's see.." She mumbled to herself, trying to make a decision between all the different sizes and brands. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning her around.

"Found these." Daryl stood there shifting his feet, holding a pack of baby wipes. "Yer' covered in blood, lemme clean ya up right quick."

She smiled. She'd always liked the man, but had accepted the fact that he was usually kind of rude. But the last few days, he seemed to soften a little. At least to her.

He took one of the baby wipes out, and gently ran it across her face. Every time he touched her, she was amazed by how gentle he could be with those rough hands.

"There, all cleaned up." He said, suddenly looking a bit shy. He showed her the wipe, it was completely red.

"Wow, I didn't realize it was that bad.." She looked down at her clothes, seeing how they were soaking in blood as well.

"Yeah, I just figured I.. Ya know.. To make ya look less terrifying 'n stuff." He chuckled.

She smiled. "Now I just need to get some clean clothes." She quickly grabbed all the packs of tampons and pads that were left, stuffed them in a bag and followed Daryl towards the exit.

* * *

Daryl was leaning against the wall as Carol had disappeared in one of the fitting rooms. She had already picked out everything for the group, and was now changing, since her own clothes were covered in blood.

"I really thought he had me, you know. That I was going to die." He heard her soft voice from the fitting room. He swallowed, he had really thought he was going to lose her when he saw that walker's teeth so close to her body. But he would never let that happen, no. "Not on my watch." He answered.

He heard her giggle, and then she opened the door and came out. She looked insecure as she walked towards him, and stopped next to him, in front of the mirror.

"So.. What do you think?"

He looked at her from head to toe. She was absolutely beautiful. Even though she had gotten really thin, her butt was still perfectly shaped, and the jeans she was wearing made them really stand out. She wore a black top with lace on the edges, and an oversized knitted white vest.

His thoughts got interrupted when she reached out and touched his chin, closing his mouth. Apparently he was so impressed that his jaw had dropped, and he hadn't even noticed it. He felt his cheeks grow red, and looked her in the eyes.

"You-" he whispered, but got interrupted by an approving whistle.

"Looking good Carol!" T-Dog said, giving her a thumbs up. Rick and Glenn followed him in, and started smiling when they saw her. He caught himself not liking the way the men looked at her.

"We gonna stand here watchin' Carol or we gonna leave?" He growled.

Glenn shot him a questioning look, smirked, but kept his mouth shut. The boy was learning.

"He's right. Looks like we're having company, so let's leave before more of them show up." Rick said, looking at the walker that was trying to get inside. He quickly got all the bags of clothes. They all ran towards the door, but he stopped her right before the exit to wait until the walker was dead.

"Wait. I'm not riskin' ya again."

The way she looked at him, licking her lips.. He wanted to kiss her so badly. But he'd never do that, he'd probably scare her to death.

"Come on, there are more coming!" They heard Glenn hiss.

Before he could think about what he was doing, he grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her outside. He saw geeks coming from multiple directions, but they were still at a safe distance. He opened the door at the driver's side because it was closer, pushed her in, threw the bags on her lap and quickly got in himself. He started the car and sped off, followed by Rick and the others in the other car.

Almost the whole way back it was quiet, but the comfortable kind of quiet. When they were almost back at the furniture store, Carol turned to look at him.

"I killed my first walker ever." She stated.

He swallowed. "I know. I- I'm sorry ya had to do that."

Jesus fucking Christ, man up Dixon! Stop stuttering, it was her own fault, she's the one that got out of the car before you told her to, he thought. But his mind and his heart seemed to say different things. And right now, he spoke with his heart. He knew he was going to regret it later, but he couldn't help it.

"I was too late. Again." He continued.

Her eyes widened. "It wasn't your fault!"

He looked at her for a second before he turned his face to the road again. Suddenly she moved over towards him, so that she sat directly next to him, their legs touching. She cupped his jaw and quickly kissed him on the cheek. "It wasn't." She whispered.

* * *

**Yeahhhh, a little action already! And also a teeny-tiny bit of romance. Aren't they adorable together? Megan**


	4. Chapter 4: Thanks Carol!

**I'm not really happy with this chapter. But I've already made a start on chapter 5, and I promise you guys it will be better! I'm kind of worried that Daryl starts getting OOC, but yeah, I'm not sure.. He's still he's old grumpy self to others, but he just really likes Carol, hehe. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead.**

* * *

She had kissed him. Well, it was just a quick peck on the cheek so it didn't really count, but still.. He still felt his skin tingling where her lips had touched it. Before he knew what he was doing, he had grabbed her hand, gently squeezing it. For the rest of the ride he held it, resting their hands on her leg, only letting go to shift gears every now and then.

His thumb was slowly stroking the back of her hand when he heard her sigh. He shot her a quick look, and saw she was dozing off, her mouth slightly opened. His lips curled up into a small crooked smile.

When he noticed his own reaction, he quickly wiped the smile off his face. Jeez Dixon, yer' becomin' a damn softie, he thought.

"Hey," he said as he gently shook the hand he was still holding. "Don'tcha fall asleep now, we're almost there."

"Mmmm," she mumbled, but her eyes remained closed.

He turned the jeep onto the driveway, and saw the others following. He softly tapped on her cheek, causing her to jump.

"What, what's going on?!" She gasped. When she saw Daryl smirking, her body relaxed.

"Ya fell asleep." He said.

She sighed. "I'm so tired, it's ridiculous. You'd think I would sleep better in an actual bed."

"Tonight will be better, with a full stomach and all. C'mon, let's go."

He felt warm inside as she smiled at him. He stopped in front of the store and helped her carry the bags.

Hershel and Maggie came outside to help carry everything. "Hey Carol, new outfit?" Maggie smiled.

Tears welled up in Carol's eyes, she was probably thinking about the walker. "Woman killed a walker today," Daryl growled as he followed everyone inside. "She was covered in blood."

Maggie covered her mouth, "Oh my god, Carol! Are you alright?!"

Carol tried to say something, but got cut off by Daryl. "She's fine. Now let's switch bags, ya can help her with the clothes and I'll help Rick with the supplies."

Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed the bags out of Maggies arms and gave her his bags instead. Then he stormed off to the other men who had gathered around the table.

* * *

"Wow, speaking of a short temper." Maggie frowned.

"Oh well. It's just how he is." Carol said. She really wanted to tell the girl about how sweet he had been to her that morning, but then thought better of it. She was sure he wouldn't appreciate that, and she didn't want him closing up again.

She had felt so alone after Sophia died, even though everyone was always being nice to her. But it was only when Daryl noticed her that she didn't feel as lonely as usual, even though she wasn't entirely sure why.

They sat down on Carol's bed and both opened a bag of clothes. "Oh this is too cute!" cooed Maggie, holding up a white shirt with red roses. "Beth would love this!"

She smiled, "I hope you're right, because I got it for her."

Maggie called Beth over and showed her the shirt. "Is that for me? Oh thank you Carol, I love it!" she said, pressing it to her chest.

"You're welcome sweetheart," Carol laughed at her enthousiasm. "Oh, and now that you're here.." She gave her the bag they had filled with packs of tampons with a triumphant face. "Here you go."

The girl uttered a cry, grabbed the bag, whispered "Thank you!" and disappeared into the ladies room.

Maggie chuckled, and they started folding the clothes. They did it in silence, listening at the men unpacking everything, with only Maggie disturbing the silence every now and then by asking for whom a particular piece of clothing was.

Carol turned around a few times to look at the group, and found Daryl staring at her every time. After a while she stopped looking, because it made her blush every time she caught him staring.

When they were done, they brought the piles of clothes to each room and then joined the others. They had placed everything on the table, and it turned out to be quite a lot. They had found cans of powdered eggs, powdered potatoes, beans, a whole bunch of sweets and a few bags of dried meat. They had even brought a few small gas rings people would take on a camping trip, to cook everything on. They had also found some ammo, but it wasn't much.

"Oh Rick, T, Glenn.. You guys are fantastic!" Carol clapped her hands. "There are clean clothes in your rooms, if you want to change," she continued.

"Oh right!" Glenn said smiling, and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks Carol!" Rick grinned, and followed Glenn's example. The group sent each other conspiring smiles and lined up behind each other, all kissing her on the cheek and cheering "Thanks Carol!" before leaving to their rooms.

As she got what they were doing, she burst into laughter. It was probably all the emotions coming out at once, and she just couldn't stop laughing. By the time everyone was done and left to their rooms, she had tears rolling down her cheeks.

When she calmed down a little, she noticed Daryl was the only one who hadn't participated. She turned around and saw the hunter leaning back against the kitchen counter, trying to hold back his laughter.

She wiped the tears off her face. "A bunch of lunatics, don't you think?" She giggled. "Don't you want to change? Your clothes are on your couch."

He slowly walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. He looked her in the eyes for a moment, before pulling a face and cooing, "Thanks Carol!"

Then he turned around and left. She watched him walking away as she burst into laughter once again.

* * *

He smirked. He had never seen the woman laugh so much in the entire time they had spent in the group.

He walked over to his couch to see what she had picked out for him. When they were in the store, he had shrugged and said that he didn't need anything, but stubborn as she was, she had picked out some clothes for him anyway.

A few flannels, cargo pants, simple black boxers and even improvised pajamas: Grey sweats and a simple pale blue t-shirt. He had to say, the woman had done a pretty good job. It was even in the right size, too. As he lifted his shirt over his head, he heard the others coming back.

"Alright Carol, we have unanimously decided that you are now our official stylist!" Glenn grinned, wearing a black shirt under a beige polo shirt. Daryl turned around to see the others, all wearing their new clothes. He let his gaze slide over the group, and stopped at Carol.

He saw her staring at his naked upper body, not noticing that he was watching her. He put his flannels on and buttoned them up. A small crooked smile appeared on his face as she blushed and quickly turned around when she finally noticed he caught her staring at him.


	5. Chapter 5: A little tipsy

**Aaaand we've already arrived at chapter 5! Thanks for all the reviews, I love reading them. They really boost my ego, haha! :) Megan**

* * *

Dinner was fantastic. Carol had cooked the squirrels with beans and powdered potatoes, which wasn't really that special, but everything tastes better when you're hungry. And besides, Carol could make everything taste good. She had brought everyone their plates, and sat down next to Daryl. They used actual plates and glasses, which they had found in the 'Staff Only' office. It was almost like back at the farm – almost.

After they had finished, Glenn and Rick exchanged looks and both stood up. Rick rushed into his room, and Glenn tapped his fork against his glass to get everybody's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a surprise," he spoke solemnly. Everyone laughed at the young man's tone.

Rick came back, holding two bottles of red wine, and dropped them onto the table. Then he went back, and came back out with a case of beer, grinning as everyone was cheering.

Lori, Carl and Beth didn't drink of course, and Hershel refused the offer, but besides them, everyone else had gladly accepted it. Carol and Maggie had claimed the wine, and the guys drank their beer.

Daryl looked around at all the smiling faces, and felt sad knowing that it wouldn't be forever. He knew that Rick wanted to keep moving until they had found the perfect place. Even though he had to admit the furniture store was pretty damn perfect, he also agreed with Rick that it wasn't really safe. It wasn't hidden, and there was only one entrance, which means that if there was a herd to come in, they would be trapped.

His thoughts got disturbed by Carol, who leaned over to him.

"I never drink," she whispered, her cheeks already slightly red, "and I don't think I can handle it very well".

He looked at her already empty glass for a moment, before moving his gaze back to her glassy eyes.

"Maybe ya should stop then," he grumbled, placing his bottle of beer to his lips.

She giggled, "Are you crazy? I'm going to enjoy this." She winked at him and grabbed the bottle of wine to refill her glass.

Why the hell did she wink? What was that supposed to mean? God, that woman really confused him sometimes.

He brought the bottle to his lips again and took a big gulp. The last time he was drunk was at the CDC, and he was planning on getting just as shitfaced as then. That night he forgot about everything for a while, about all the things they had to worry about in the morning, and he liked that feeling.

It was getting later and later, and soon they were all a little tipsy. Well, Carol was already more than a little tipsy, but what the hell. The woman said she was going to enjoy it, and she deserved to have some fun. Lori and Carl had already gone to bed, and Hershel and Beth also went to their room not much later. Now it was just Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, Maggie, Carol and Daryl.

* * *

They kept drinking and talking and laughing in the soft light of a few candles Carl had found, until Glenn looked at his – or well, Dale's watch. "Hey, it's already two AM!" He grinned.

Maggie yawned. "I already thought it was late. I'm so tired.. I'm off to bed. Goodnight guys!"

"I'll be there in a minute." Glenn said.

Everyone wished her goodnight, and she went into their room. Glenn smiled at us, "Gotta take a leak first". He took a last gulp, slammed the empty bottle onto the table and disappeared into the men's room.

Rick looked at the closed door of his room for a second, and then back at the group. "I'm going to sleep as well. I thought we could maybe look for a more permanent place tomorrow? Not move yet, just look around a bit."

T-Dog and Daryl nodded. "S'fine man." T said.

They wished Glenn goodnight as he passed them on his way to his room, and Rick stood up and went to his room as well.

Daryl was just wondering why Carol was so quiet, when T-Dog stood up and said, "I'm gonna sleep too. Ya need help with that?" while pointing behind Daryl.

He turned around and saw Carol resting her head on her arms on the table, and sighed. "Second time she's fallen asleep today. Woman must be real tired."

As T-Dog shot him a quizzical look, he realized he didn't answer his question. "Eh, no, I'll be fine." He said.

"Alright. Goodnight man." The guy answered, and went to his bed on the other side of the store.

Daryl turned around to look at Carol. She looked so peaceful, he almost didn't want to wake her up.

She shook her shoulder gently and whispered, "C'mon sleepyhead, wake up."

When she didn't react, she shook her a little bit rougher. "Carol?"

Jeez, she was right: The woman really couldn't handle her liquor. "Carol, come on," he whispered, still without success.

He sighed, and shoved one arm under her knees. He held his other arm behind her back as he gently lifted her up, and she suddenly moaned softly while burying her face in his chest.

He stood there with her in his arms for a moment, and thought it was actually kind of cute. Cute? Damnit Dixon, you're staring at a passed out woman. There's nothing cute about that. He quickly shook off his thoughts and walked over to her bed. Since she had gotten really thin over the past months, he had no problem carrying her.

He gently laid her down on her bed, and as he wanted to get up, she grabbed his shirt, scaring the crap out of him as he didn't expect that.

"Goddamnit woman, ya scared me." He grumbled.

Her eyes fluttered open and she pulled him towards her. His face was just a few centimetres away from hers, which caused him to suck in his breath involuntarily . What the hell did she think she was doing?

"I thought you would teach me how to shoot today," She said in an overly disappointed tone, clearly having trouble pronouncing the words.

He let out a sigh and said, "Ya already killed a walker today, figured that was enough for now."

"But," she muttered, but Daryl cut her off. "Ya really wanna discuss this at two thirty in the morning?"

She looked at him with glassy eyes, and sighed. "Alright, fine," She mumbled. "Goodnight Daryl." Just as he wanted to free himself from her grip, he felt her softly pressing her lips to his.

It overwhelmed him, but he found himself liking it. His rough hands softly cupped her face and he felt her tasting his lips with her tongue, begging for entrance. He slowly opened his mouth and she let out a soft moan as their tongues met.

That brought him back to reality, and he pulled away instantly, looking at her with wide eyes of shock – and confusion, maybe? He didn't even know anymore.

"I-" She stuttered, but Daryl interrupted her again.

"Yer' drunk. Sleep." He said, not looking at her.

She nodded sadly, and turned his back to him. As he walked over to his couch and unbuttoned his flannels, he suddenly realized she hadn't even changed yet. But when he listened closely, he already heard her snoring lightly. Next time he would make sure she didn't get too drunk. Although, next time she'd probably think twice before drinking so much, he thought and chuckled, thinking of the headache that was most likely in store for her tomorrow.

"Goodnight Carol," he whispered.

* * *

**Weeee! What did you guys think of it?**

******This is an all-Daryl chapter, by the way, and I'm sorry if you don't like that.. I just find it easier and more fun to write from a man's POV.. Even though I'm a girl! I promise the chapters will get longer again, but I just really liked this as an ending, hehe. Even though it's a little dramatic. I think he wouldn't even have kissed her back if he wasn't a little tipsy himself, so don't expect just fluff from now on, it's still Daryl. **


	6. Chapter 6: Squirrel meat and a hangover

**Hiiiii! I'm sorry for not updating yesterday, I was really busy. My stepfather has his own garage, and he's moving to a bigger building these days. So I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to update tomorrow.. But here's a longer chapter to keep you all happy - hopefully. :) Megan**

* * *

Carol woke up with a pounding head. "Damn," she mumbled to herself while letting her eyes adjust to the light. She slowly sat up and looked around the store. It seemed that only Lori, Carl, Beth and Hershel had woken up yet. It wasn't really surprising, as they were the only ones not drinking last night.

She noticed she was still wearing her clothes from last night, and then she remembered. She had kissed Daryl. She sighed and let her aching head fall back onto her pillow. Even though she didn't remember much of last night – she promised herself she'd never drink that much ever again – she remembered the kiss perfectly. How his big, rough hands held her face in such a gentle manner. How his hungry lips pressed themselves harder onto hers.. And how fast he pulled back when she broke the spell with her stupid moaning.

She rolled onto her side, and took a peek at Daryl through her eyelashes. He appeared to be sound asleep, judging from the look on his face. He looked so much more relaxed now, his face was normally much more tensed up and angry-looking. It had been like that since she knew him, though it had become less since.. since Merle wasn't around anymore. She was sure he loved him, of course he did, it was his brother. But she also knew Merle could be a real pain in the ass, or actually, she had never seen him _not _being a pain in the ass. He always needed to insult someone, and he cursed a hundred times more than Daryl. She was actually glad that Merle was gone, even though she would never say that, of course.

She let her eyes slide over his body. He had tossed his blanket to the side, so she could see that he was wearing the pajamas she had picket out for him He was laying on his back, but the couch wasn't that wide, so one arm was dangling out. She didn't really understand why he had picked that couch over the many beds, but you didn't hear her complaining about that. She actually kind of liked him being so close. Even now, just watching him sleep peacefully like that, calmed her down a bit. It made her forget about her throbbing headache for a moment.

But that was all she was going to get – the sight of him. Because she was sure she screwed up. He had showed that he cared for her, a opened up to her a bit, and she blew that by kissing him. What the hell was she thinking? It was probably the alcohol that made him kiss her back, and nothing else. It was just.. His face was so close, and even while they were chapped, his lips were still beautiful. She just couldn't stop herself from doing it.

She knew how it would go: He would ignore and avoid her as much as possible, and she would allow him to, in order to avoid any awkward moments.

Suddenly she heard footsteps, so she opened her eyes fully to see who it was. She saw Carl standing there, looking at her shyly as he cleared his throat. "Did I, eh.. Did I wake you up?"

She smiled at him and quickly sat up, "No, I was already awake."

The boy relaxed a bit, and continued. "Well, I'm sorry for asking this, but.." She saw him searching for the right words.

"What is it, honey?"

He looked over his shoulder for his mother, and when she followed his gaze and saw a very pale Lori stirring something in a pan, she understood. "She's not taking it that well, huh?" She smiled.

Carl looked surprised. "No, she isn't. She says it's morning sickness.. So I was wondering if you could.. Maybe.. I mean, I'm not that good at cooking myself, so.." He stuttered.

Carol chuckled. "Tell your mother I'll be there in a minute." He smiled at her thankfully, and ran off, back to Lori.

She slowly turned and dropped her feet onto the cold ground. She was now facing Daryl, but saw from the corner of her eye that he was starting to wake up, so she didn't dare to look at him. She reached out for the bag that was next to her bed, and pulled out her clothes from yesterday. She walked over to the other side of the bed, her back now turned to him, and quickly got dressed.

Lori smiled at Carol when she took over. "Thank you. I just really can't stand the smell of meat." She said. "It's okay," Carol answered, "I overslept because of.. last night." She swallowed.

"I figured. Rick is also still asleep." Lori said.

"No I'm not." The women both turned around to see Rick standing behind them, rubbing his eyes. He stretched his back and kissed Lori on the cheek. "Good morning ladies." Then he turned to Carol. "Is your head hurting as much mine?" Carol grinned, "If it isn't more."

"We'll make sure to get some aspirins on our way back today." Rick said.

Carol nodded and turned around to continue scrambling the powdered eggs and to check on the cooking squirrel and rabbit meat. While she was busy, she heard Maggie and Glenn joining the group, and a few moments later T-Dog and Daryl as well.

"Alright. I want to leave right after breakfast. We stay together and we stay alert, got it?" Rick said with a serious tone. A few agreeing sounds followed. "I'm taking Glenn, and Daryl, you're taking T-Dog. When we left yesterday there were quite a lot of walkers coming for us, so there is a large possibility there are more of them further in town. If that's the case, we don't go right back, because they might follow us and that's the last thing we want. We just continue driving and they'll lose us eventually. Am I clear?" Carol raised an eyebrow listening to the cop. He sounded like a true leader.

"So what are we looking for exactly?" She heard Glenn ask. "Well, we don't want to stay in a town. We have to find a secluded house somewhere, without a lot of walkers near it. Nothing is really good enough, we have to keep moving. Because even large secluded buildings aren't always.. safe."

She knew he was talking about the farm, and heard Hershel sigh sadly. While listening, she put the food on the plates. "Beth, can you help me bring breakfast around?" The young blonde girl seemed glad she could help, and quickly brought everyone their plates. Carol picked up her own plate and quickly scanned the table. She met Daryl's eyes for a second before he averted his head. She felt her face grow red, and decided to sit down between Beth and Maggie, on the other end of the table.

The men were bent over a few maps, their eyes and fingers sliding over possible routes they could take. "Guys," she spoke up, looking around insecurely as suddenly everyone rested their eyes on her. She looked at the table before continuing. "You're not going to find anything if you all faint of hunger. Eat."

She heard a familiar sarcastic chuckle coming from Daryl's direction that caused her to look up, but besides the hunter who looked down at his food, everyone smiled at her and Hershel gave her an encouraging nod.

* * *

They left right after breakfast. Daryl was glad that Rick had taken the Korean chatterbox with him, because he wasn't in the mood for having to listen to his never ending rattling. Actually he was never in the mood for that, but today he was sure that he would explode. T-Dog at least knew how to be quiet. He had never really noticed the guy back at the camp, but he was starting to like him at the farm. They weren't best buddies or anything, but they knew they could rely on each other.

Daryl insisted he would be driving, and luckily T-Dog was okay with that. They had been driving for almost forty-five minutes now, but hadn't found anything good yet. And on top of that, there were walkers everywhere, so he was glad he didn't take the bike today. For the last thirty minutes they've seen nothing but trees, and it really started to annoy him.

"So what's up between you and Carol?" Startled, he slammed the brakes, and T-Dog was just in time to grab the dashboard so that he wouldn't hit his head. "What the hell man!" He yelled. Daryl looked at him for a second before he continued driving, but said nothing. "What the fuck was that supposed to mean?!" T-Dog said angrily.

"Ya shut yer' damn mouth 'bout Carol." Daryl hissed. He didn't know why he reacted the way he did, and he felt kind of bad for scaring the living hell out of T-Dog. He just didn't want to discuss this right now. In fact, he didn't want to discuss this ever. T looked at him questioningly and shook his head. "Whatever man."

They kept driving in silence for another hour, before Rick suddenly pulled over. Daryl stopped next to him and T-Dog opened his window. "Do you see that?" Rick pointed at the treetops. When they looked at it, they saw some sort of tower.. "Ya wanna check it out?" Daryl asked. "This might be the watchtower of that prison we saw on the map. It would be great if we can get it cleared out." The cop answered.

They started driving , and after fifteen minutes or so, they arrived at the gigantic prison towering above them. They got out of the car and looked around, there were no walkers to be seen. No walkers _outside _of the prison gates, at least. The yard, closed off with high fences, was literally stuffed with inmates. Former inmates. Now they were rotting corpses in blue suits, walking around aimlessly. Until they noticed their fresh meal almost right under their noses. Most of them started rattling the fences, moaning loudly as they tried to grab them with their bony fingers. Which didn't work of course, they were still about 10 meters away from them and the fences were solid enough.

"This would be incredible if we could clear it out." Rick said, almost beaming of joy. "We could come back tomorrow with the rest and clear out the yard. Then we can stay there before we have cleared the rest of the prison out." Glenn nodded.

"Gentlemen," Rick smiled, "I think we have found ourselves a home."


	7. Chapter 7: Thank God for leather jackets

**Well, I did it! Despite being super busy today and celebrating my mom's birthday, I still had time to finish chapter 7. So I hope you guys like it! Megan**

* * *

Finding the prison was the best thing that had happened to them so far. Sure, they had to deal with a whole bunch of walkers, but they had done that before. There were a few watchtowers, "Perfect to shoot from," Rick had said. There was a path between the fences around the yard and the outside fences, where they would be safe.

They were still taking everything in, smiling when they thought about their new place, which was even better than the farm and the furniture store together, when Glenn suddenly yelled, "Look out!" They all turned around to see a small group of walkers dangerously close already. The boy reached for his gun and got ready to shoot, but Rick stopped him just in time. "Don't shoot, it will only draw more of them to us," he hissed. Glenn nodded, and Daryl turned around to give him his knife. "Here. I've got my bow." He said. Suddenly he felt some sort of large pressure on his shoulder before he felt a sharp pain, and Glenn started to scream.

Alarmed, he jumped forward and turned around to see what used to be a big, probably muscular guy, trying to bite him again. It was too close for Daryl to shoot an arrow, and he had just given his knife to Glenn. Where was that little fucker now? He stumbled backwards, looking around, and saw Glenn busy killing another walker that almost got him. Suddenly he tripped over something and fell to the ground. "Fuck!" he yelled, his voice cracking, and finally Rick and T-Dog noticed him. Just before the walker got to him again, it got decapitated by T-Dogs axe, and Rick slammed his knife down its eye. Glenn killed off the last one, and watched as Daryl got back up.

"Are you alright?" Rick asked worried. "He's been bit." Glenn blurted out. They all looked at him in terror, and Daryl looked right back at them. "No I'm not," he said, and took off his leather jacket. "This guy saved me" he continued, tapping on the fabric. "Take off your shirt," Rick ordered. He frowned, but took it off anyway, and turned around to show it to them. There was already a large bruise forming, but there was no blood. "See? I'm fine." He grumbled. "I took an arrow to the side and survived it. I got shot in the head and survived it. Ya think I'm gonna let myself get killed by a fuckin' walker? Nu-uh. No one kills a Dixon but a Dixon. Now let's get the fuck outta here before more of them assholes come along."

Rick seemed satisfied with that answer. "He's right. Let's go. I want to visit the pharmacy and search some houses for weapons and ammo before we head back. And we also need iron scissors to get inside this fence," he said, nodding at the fence behind him.

Daryl put his shirt and jacket back on, and winced a little when they touched his shoulder. Damn, that fucker got him good.. Thank god for his leather jacket. He saw T-Dog giving him a questioning look, but ignored it and got in the car, placing his crossbow between them on the couch of the jeep.

It was already dark when they got back, and dinner seemed to be ready. They had taken all the antibiotics, painkillers and bandages they could find, and also found a few guns, crowbars – "Always useful", Rick had said – and a whole lot of ammo and knifes from the houses in town. It appeared someone had been a true prepper, but died before he could use any of his stuff. They even found a whole basement filled with powdered eggs, powdered potatoes, dried meat.. You name it, they had found it.

When they entered the furniture store, they got received with cheers as the group saw their arms filled with bags. He tossed it onto the table, and stiffened as Hershel slapped him on the shoulder. The vet noticed it immediately, and asked, "Did that hurt?" as if he couldn't believe the tough hunter was able to feel pain. "Got bit today," he shrugged.

"What?!" He heard Lori yell, her hands resting protectively on her belly, and he chuckled before turning around. "Ya heard me. I got bit." When he looked around trying to pull a neutral face, he saw Carol staring at him, her eyes filled with tears while her hand covered her mouth. He had thought it was funny to freak Lori out, but he hadn't thought about how the others would react. He quickly shook his head and tried to smile at her, "I'm fine though," he continued. He saw the shock in her eyes make place for confusion, and took off his jacket. "Asshole didn't get through the leather," he said.

She was so sweet. Even though he had ignored her since last night's kiss, she still got worried about him. He didn't understand why, but it seemed like she really cared about him, while he was always acting like a jerk to her. He decided he would try to be nicer to her from now on, and just forget about the kiss. She'd only done that because she was drunk, and he would just have to accept that. Besides, he wasn't really a relationship kind of guy. He has had dozens of one-night stands and kissed even more girls, but on the other side, he had never felt anything for them. He wasn't even sure he was able to have feelings for anyone, although he felt different with Carol. But whatever it was that he felt, he wasn't going to do anything with it. This wasn't a world for love.

* * *

Carol was scared out of her mind when Daryl told them he was bit, but thank god he was wearing that jacket. He almost seemed startled when he saw her face, which was strange. Or maybe it wasn't, she wasn't sure anymore, she could never make him out.

While she was ordening her thoughts, she was preparing dinner. Lori and Rick were whispering in a corner of the store, Maggie and Glenn were resting a bit on one of the couches, Carl and Beth were drawing at the dinner table with some paper and pens they had found in the staff room, and Hershel and T-Dog were talking at the other end of the table. She wasn't sure where Daryl was.

She had cooked the last bit of squirrel and rabbit meat with powdered potatoes, and Beth helped her with bringing everyone their plates again. Everyone sat down at the table but Daryl. When she looked around, she saw him laying on his back on his couch, staring at the ceiling. She decided to just let him be, and joined the group at the table.

"So would you finally tell us if you guys found anything?" Maggie smiled. Rick's eyes began to sparkle, and his lips formed into a big smile. She raised an eyebrow at his reaction, but couldn't deny it had made her curious. "Well.." he grinned, "we may have found something."

"Oh just tell us already!" Lori sighed smiling. Rick exchanged looks with T-Dog and Glenn before continuing. "We have found a prison. It's stuffed with walkers, but if we clear it out, it's the best place we've ever had. The beds won't be as comfortable as here," he shot a quick look at Daryl, "but we'll be a lot safer. Double fences, watch towers.. It's absolutely perfect."

Everyone's eyes widened, and a few jaws dropped. The luck they had since the farm got overrun.. It was crazy.

After the guys had told every possible detail about the prison, and everyone finished their plates, they kept talking for a few hours. Daryl had joined them eventually, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else. She had caught his gaze a few times, but it was like he was looking right through her. She was wondering what he was thinking about.

After a while a few people had already went to bed, and Carol couldn't stop yawning, so she decided to go to bed as well. She was so tired that she was already taking off clothes on the way to her bed. When she was wearing just a couch, she heard someone cough behind her. Quickly she turned around, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to cover her body as she saw Daryl standing there awkwardly shifting on his feet, not know where to look.

"Sorry, I eh- I want, eh.." he stuttered, trying to keep his eyes on her face. She grabbed the shirt she used as pajamas, put it on and looked at him expectantly. He didn't seem to find the right words, so she interrupted his ehh-ing. "Look. I know. I'm sorry about last night." She said, trying to sound confident.

He looked surprised. "What? Oh, eh, yeah, I get it. You were drunk. Drunk people sometimes do things they don't want to do." He mumbled. Now it was her turn to look surprised. "Things they don't want to do?"

He looked at her with a mix of fear and confusion in his eyes now. He opened his mouth, closed it again, and sighed, clearly not knowing how to answer. Instead he threw his leather jacket in her arms, and said, "Here. Have this."

"What, why?" Carol asked.

"Just because. I want ya to wear it tomorrow when we clear out the prison. I'm not takin' no for an answer woman, just take it." he grumbled, before turning around and walking away, not giving her time to answer.

She looked at the jacket for a second before smiling at him. She stated that it was just impossible to figure this man out, so she would stop trying and just try to enjoy everything from now on.

"Thanks," she whispered. She would probably not get much sleep tonight, but that was totally worth it.


	8. Chapter 8: Today's the day

**My longest chapter so far! I hope you guys like it, I know I had fun writing it! I really hope my English is alright. I'm from the Netherlands, so it's not my native language.. If something really bothers you, please let me know!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or it's characters.**

* * *

She was wearing the leather jacket at the prison yard, and it had saved her. But when she looked around, she saw Daryl laying on the ground, with walkers around him, ripping chunks of flesh from his body. She stabbed every one of them right in the head, and was now going for the last one.

But when it lifted its head, it had a very familiar face. "Sophia?" she asked, tears starting so stream down her face. The girl started to come for her, but Carol didn't have the heart to kill it. Suddenly Daryl picked up a gun and shot her, apparently still being alive, despite the fact that half of his body was already eaten.

"Stop screaming," he said, "you'll wake everyone up." What? Everyone was right there behind her, fighting off walkers. He must be hallucinating. "Stop it woman," she heard again, now louder, "Stop it!" Suddenly, the world around her started to fade and she felt herself being shaken roughly.

She gasped and flew out of bed. Because she stood up that fast, she was getting dizzy and started trembling. While her dream world disappeared completely, and her eyes adjusted to the dark, she vaguely saw Daryl standing in front of her, trying to get her to lay back down.

"I thought ya were never gonna wake up," he whispered.

"But.. Sophia, a- and you, and.."

"Ssh. I know. Ya were talking in yer' sleep. Screaming, actually. Just a bad dream, is all." He mumbled.

Shit. Who knows what kind of things she had blurted out in her sleep. Luckily he couldn't see her red cheeks in the darkness.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"No idea. But it'll take a few hours for the sun to come up. So try to go back to sleep, kay?"

She nodded.

"Carol?" she heard. Oh right, he couldn't see her nod of course. "Okay." She whispered.

She did as he said and laid back down. She heard him walk away, leaving her alone with her thoughts once again. Thirty minutes went by where she tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't.

Everything had felt so real.. She couldn't get rid of the image of Sophia as one of those bloodthirsty monsters. She just wished she had been able to protect her little girl. She couldn't help but start crying again, her face pressed down in her pillow to stifle her sobs.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice someone crawling into the other side of the bed until she suddenly felt a warm hand on her back. It had startled her and she turned around quickly, facing the stranger in her bed. "Ssh. It's me." She heard.

God, this man was unbelievable. But last night she had decided to stop trying to understand him and just enjoy the little things he gave her, so that was what she was going to do. She felt him coming a bit closer, but he still kept some distance between their bodies. His hand reached out for her again, grabbing her shoulder. It was still pitch black in the store, so he probably didn't really know where she was and how she was laying exactly.

She felt his fingers carefully tracing her neck, until he finally found her wet cheeks. He wiped the tears away and held her face for a moment. Suddenly he pulled his hand away, and she almost felt kind of sad. But before she could say or do anything, his hand cupped her jaw, and his thumb brushed past her lips, so lightly that he almost didn't touch them at all. It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"Hey," mumbled Daryl, "stop cryin', will ya?" She smiled at his sudden personality change. I could get used to this side of him, she thought to herself.

He felt her lips curl up and he continued, "There ya go. Much prettier when ya smile."

She giggled nervously. What the hell was going on here? She felt like a teenager, for god's sake. "You can't even see me, how would you know?"

Now it stayed quiet for a moment. "I just do," he said finally, "now sleep. Ya need to rest for tomorrow, or else ya won't be able to shoot properly."

"Shoot? I can't shoot! You never taught me!" she replied, louder than intended. "Ssh. I know. It won't matter if ya miss, we'll stand on a watch tower. Perfect time to practice huh?" he chuckled at the last sentence, "now sleep or I'll kick yer' ass."

She grinned, and grabbed his hand in a reflex. She felt him tense up, but didn't let go. "Good night," she said, followed by a loud yawn.

* * *

When he woke up, he didn't know where he was at first. Still half asleep, he tried to get up, but felt something keeping him down. He winced slightly when he felt a sharp pain run through his body, probably from yesterday's fall. When he opened his eyes, he was immediately wide awake.

Somehow, in their sleep, they had rolled over to each other and now he was laying on his back, and she was resting her head on his chest. She had one arm draped over his stomach, and from her steady breathing he assumed she was still fast asleep. He laid there for a few minutes, mindlessly brushing his fingers up and down her arm.

Then he carefully placed her arm on her own side, trying to not wake her up. She took a deep breath and he froze, but she continued breathing steadily and he let out a sigh. Even more carefully he lifted her head slightly, just enough for him to move over a few centimetres.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him for a moment. She mumbled something, closed her eyes and turned around. Pfew. He didn't want her to wake up when they were still in that, to him, awkward position.

He stepped out of bed and walked over to his own couch. He put on some old clothes with blood stains. No need to wear classy new clothes when you're about to kill a giant group of walkers.

He went to the staff room, got a pan and filled it with water, and walked back to the kitchen where they kept the gas rings. While he was boiling the water to make some coffee, he looked around. This was probably going to be the last time they'd be here, if everything goes according to plan. The next time they would be sleeping in cells. He didn't like being between four walls, but nowadays he didn't really have a choice anymore. It was stay inside or get eaten.

After about thirty minutes, everyone had woken up. Carol had looked at him, but had thank god not said anything. If there was anything he wasn't good at, it was talking, so much he knew by now. Last night he was really uncomfortable, but had tried to ignore it. He didn't like seeing her sad, so he was going to be nice to her. And if that meant he had to hold her until she fell asleep, then so be it. As long as no one else saw it, of course.

They all gathered around the table, and Rick cleared his throat. "Okay. Today is the big day, guys. I want everything to work out well and I want no one to die, so listen carefully. When we get there, I will cut a hole in the fence and everyone will get through quickly. Glenn will close it up with this," he held a thick red wire in the air, "and then everyone gets in position."

He pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket, where he had made a plan of the prison, and placed it onto the table. Then he pulled a pen from his shirt pocket, and continued. "I want Beth, Carl, T-Dog and Glenn here," he placed a circle between the two fences, "Maggie and Hershel here," he encircled a watchtower, "and Daryl and Carol here," he said as he encircled the opposite watchtower.

"T, Beth, Carl and Glenn will distract them, and Lori will open the first gate for me, and then stay behind it. She doesn't do anything, because, well.." He rubbed her belly for a second and smiled at the group.

Then he went back to being serious before he continued. "I will run through the yard to close the second gate, closing off the yard completely. You all will make sure nothing happens to me, so I'm counting on you, guys. The gate is next to this watchtower here," he said as he encircled the watchtower next to the gate, "and that's where I go in. Then it's just a matter of time before they're all dead.. Again. Then we can clear the whole building section by section. So, how does it sound?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Daryl. "It's great dad," Carl smiled. The former sheriff looked around triumphantly, and put the piece of paper back into his back pocket. "Alright then. Everyone, please pee before we leave, because you won't have time for that later," he grinned.

Everyone started packing their stuff and loaded it into the cars. As everyone was done, Daryl walked to his bike to see Carol standing there, shifting from foot to foot, wearing his jacket. "I figured, eh," she stuttered.

One side of his lips curled up into a small crooked smile. "Hop on," he said, jerking his head to the bike.

She sent him a thankful smile and waited for him to swing his leg over the shaft of the bike before sitting down herself. She immediately wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, and he laid his hand on hers. He played mindlessly with her fingers for a while, before Rick finally pulled up next to him and rolled his window down. "You ready?" he asked.

"Hell, I was ready 10 minutes ago." Daryl grumbled.

"Alright, let's go then." Rick said, and drove off.

After about two hours, they arrived at the prison. "Oh my god," he heard Carol whisper after he had turned off the engine. He got off the bike, and then helped her off.

"They're behind fences, we'll be up on those watchtowers, you'll be safe." He said.

"I know, I know," she smiled, "it's just amazing!"

Daryl looked at her for a second before walking over to the rest of the group at the fence, knowing she would follow him. Rick had just made a hole in the fence, and held it open as everyone got through. When everyone was in, Glenn quickly closed it with the wire Rick had given him. He had closed it just in time, because a few seconds after he was done, the first walkers had already come out of the woods, attracted by the sound of their roaring engines.

Daryl and Carol walked over to the closest watch tower and got up. When he turned around to look at Carol, he saw the unhappy look on her face, and her hands shaking as they held the rifle.

"Why ya shakin'?" he asked. She looked up to him.

"I'm not." As she saw one of his eyebrows raising, she sighed. "I've never used one of these things before, that's all."

"Ya'll be fine woman. Just aim for the head and pull the trigger. I know ya can do it." He said, flicking the safety switch of her rifle before flicking his owns. He heard loud screams coming from the fence, and saw T-Dog, Beth, Carl and Glenn trying to get the walkers' attention. He saw the walkers stumbling towards the fence, and the small group stabbing the closest ones in the heads.

"Alright, pay attention now," he said on a serious tone. "We have to make sure Rick's safe, so shoot every walker you think is too close. Try not to shoot Rick, though." He smirked.

He held up his rifle and began shooting, and smiled as he saw Carol from the corner of his eye, starting to shoot as well. He had already shot about twenty walkers, and Rick was almost at the gate now. T-Dog, Carl, Beth and Glenn had also begun shooting as they could no longer hold the attention of the walkers. The walkers slumped to the ground one by one, and he saw how Rick closed the gate without any problems. The cop shot a few walkers that had gotten too close, opened the door of the watchtower, shot the one walker that was trapped in there and jumped in. Everyone began to cheer as the job was as good as finished. They shot the remaining walkers, and that was that.

He turned around and watched Carol with amusement, who was jumping up and down while clapping her hands. "Great job guys!" she yelled. As she noticed she was being watched, she quickly turned to Daryl and quickly stopped jumping. He grinned and put an arm around her shoulder, "Ya did good today". She looked up to him and he suddenly noticed how close they were, physically. He eyed her for a second, before letting her go. "Come on. Let's get down."

She nodded and followed him down the narrow stairs. Everyone walked into the yard, and started hugging and complimenting each other. As they saw Rick coming towards them, everyone began clapping and cheering, T-Dog even whistled through his fingers. Rick started laughing, and said on a loud tone, "You guys are the best. You did great! Now let's get the cars in here, and rest a bit before we clear the next section, alright?"


	9. Chapter 9: Well, it takes my breath away

_**"The look of love  
Is in your eyes  
The look your smile can't disguise  
The look of love  
Is saying so much more than just words could ever say  
And what my heart has heard,  
Well it takes my breath away."**_

** - Dusty Springfield**

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They had gotten the cars and bike into the yard, and rested in the grass for a bit, before clearing the next section. Clearing the yard had been a piece of cake, they just had to shoot from places where no one could get to them. Except Rick, of course, he was out in the open. But the next section would be worse, because they _all_ had to get between the fences, run around in the middle of dozens of walkers, risking everyone's lives as no one was there to shoot from above.

While thinking about all that, Carol enjoyed the warm sun on her face and laid down, her arms behind her head. The leather jacket Daryl had given her made her sweat, but she didn't even think about taking it off. She closed her eyes and listened to the others.

"But dad, I can shoot!"

"No buts. You're not coming with us."

"Why not?"

"Just because, Carl. You're only thirteen. And besides, I need you to watch your mother. You're the only one I trust enough to protect her, you know."

"Oh, right. I get it. Okay, I promise I'll keep mom safe."

Carol smiled, Rick knew exactly what he had to say to please someone. The boy was right though, he was a great shot. And most likely much better than her, since today was the first time she had ever used a gun. Or a rifle, actually.

Suddenly she felt the warmth on her face disappear, and she opened one eye to see Daryl standing in front of her, holding a bottle of water. He sat down next to her and she got up a little, leaning on her elbows.

"I gotta say.. Ya were pretty badass up there," he smirked. "I don't think I even hit one. But yeah, I felt kinda cool with that rifle," she answered.

"Ya hit more than one, woman. Yer' good." He held the bottle of water in front of her and she gladly accepted it. She hadn't really noticed until now, but she only had a cup of coffee this morning. She unscrewed the cap and took a large gulp. She gave it back to him and watched him take a sip before screwing the cap back on.

She wiped the sweat of her forehead and sighed. "Goddamn, it's hot in here."

He threw her a surprised look. "What?" she asked.

"Just never heard ya say goddamn before, is all," he said, a small smile playing on his lips.

She smiled, and laid all the way down again. "Picked it up from a certain someone." She saw him look at her for a moment before he laid down next to her, staring at something in the sky.

They just laid there for a few minutes, enjoying the sun and the silence. Well, it wasn't really silent with the moaning walkers behind the fence and the talking and laughing members of the group, but for a moment, they were in their own little silent world.

"We'll get going in a few minutes," she said with an unsteady voice.

"Ya nervous?" he asked, a soft look in his eyes.

"A little. It's just.. I can't even protect myself, so how am I supposed to protect others? I don't want to be responsible for someone dying.."

He touched her arm for a second, causing her to look at him. She saw something in his eyes she couldn't put her finger on. Normally she could read him like a book, but this was new. "Ya _can _protect yerself. Remember that walker a few days ago? That was all you. Ya did that all by yerself," he said. "And besides, ya will be holding a gun now. No heavy rifle, no knife you have to slam down a skull. All ya have to do is point it at their head and pull the trigger."

Just as she wanted to say something, Rick spoke up. "Alright people. Are you ready for round two? Let's shoot some brains out."

She chuckled, he sounded more like a game show host than someone who was just about to kill living dead people. Daryl got up and reached his hand out, giving her a quick nod. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up, and when she turned around she saw Maggie and Glenn looking at them with a big smile on their faces. Maggie winked at her and she heard Daryl snort loudly next to her. She let out a giggle and followed everyone to the gate. Beth, Carl, Hershel and Lori would stay behind.

Suddenly she got a gun pushed into her hand by Rick, and she sucked in her breath involuntarily. He eyed her for a second and asked, "Are you sure you can do this?"

She really wanted to say no and run away, but somehow managed to keep a steady voice as she said, "Yes. I'm sure." He gave her an approving nod and turned to the gate. There were already quite a few walkers at the gate, moaning and grunting loudly. They shot them quickly through the gate before Lori opened it for them.

"I know ya can do it," Daryl's warm breath tickled her ear as he whispered in it from behind her. She nodded without looking at him, and quickly stepped through the gate. She heard it close behind her, and suddenly felt even more nervous. This was it. She couldn't afford to make any mistakes. Just aim for the head and shoot.

She shook her head and took a deep breath before following everyone else. There were already walkers coming for them, a few were already taken out by Maggie and T-Dog.

It was unbelievable how fast they could go when they smelled food, considering most of them walked with a limp – and were dead, of course. She guessed seeing dead people walking around was already unbelievable in itself. But it had become reality and she really had to focus now, so she shook her head and tried to concentrate..

She saw one coming for her, and she raised her gun. Her knees were shaking and she breathed out. _Bang. _It slumped down to the ground instantly.

She turned around to see another one. _Bang._ Shit, she hit it in the neck. _Bang. _Now it was down.

She turned around to see the others still close to her, shooting and always hitting target. Daryl looked at her for a second and raised his thumb before continuing shooting. She turned her back to the group to cover them and shot down three more walkers. "Carol!" she heard T-Dog yell. She turned around to see a walker not even a meter away, but it fell down before she could even pull the trigger.

Behind it stood Rick, and they exchanged a quick nod before they continued the mission.

She shot every walker she saw without hesitating, and earned a few surprised looks from her fellow group members.

They had probably killed about a fifty walkers now, and it looked like it was never going to end. She didn't know how many she had shot already, but she felt her confidence grow with every kill. She had only missed three times now, which she thought was pretty good for someone who had never even held a gun in her whole life.

They turned around a corner and found themselves at an entrance of the prison. Now they were with their backs against the wall, and there were still about 30 coming for them. She pointed her gun at one that had already gotten close. _Click. _What? _Click. Click. _Oh, fucking great. She didn't know how those things worked, but apparently she was out of ammo. The former inmate was dangerously close now, so she turned around and ran over to Daryl, who was still shooting.

"I'm out!" She hissed. "What?" he said, lowering his gun for a moment. "Bullets! I'm out of bullets!"

He pushed her behind him and continued shooting. "Give me your knife," she yelled over the noise, looking at the walker that had followed her.

"I ain't givin' you no knife woman, way too dangerous!" he screamed back.

"Oh yeah, and I'm safe without any weapon at all?" she mumbled under her breath. He turned his head to her for a moment like he heard her, and then quickly handed over his gun. He grabbed his knife from his boot and slammed it down the skull of the walker that had followed her over to him. She had forgotten about him for a second, thank god Daryl saw it.

He turned back to her and yelled, "Come on, have my damn back here!"

She raised the gun again and started shooting. There were only about five left now, and she shot them all within seconds. When she lowered her gun and let out a deep sigh, she noticed everyone looking at her with big eyes.

"..What?"

"Are you.. Are you sure you've never used a gun before?" Glenn asked, frowning.

She looked at the gun in her hand before looking back at the group. "Pretty sure, yeah," she smiled, suddenly being her old shy self again.

T-Dog hit her on the shoulder, "Damn girl, you're a natural!" She noticed Daryl's smile disappear right away, and looked away to hide her grin.

"It's just beginners luck." Right at that moment a stray walker stumbled around the corner, and she shot it instantly. A few jaws dropped and she let out a nervous giggle. "Stop staring at me," she mumbled, handing Daryl the gun. "Let's get inside."

Inside were only a few more walkers, and Carol stayed behind Daryl as the others killed them off.

"Let's clear out a cellblock for tonight, get out stuff inside and go further in tomorrow," Rick said. Everyone agreed on that and they continued walking. They found one pretty quickly, and a sign on the wall said 'Cell block C'.

"This is fantastic," the former sheriff smiled. "Let's get the others!"


	10. Chapter 10: Hungry

**I'm terribly sorry for not updating any sooner! I just didn't have ANY inspiration, AT ALL. So uhm.. The next chapter will be better, I promise. It can't be bad, you'll see at the end. *wink wink* Ehehe. Enjoy!**

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When they got back at the yard, Carl, Beth, Lori and Hershel had already come through the gate.. As soon as they saw their group, Beth and Carl ran towards them, followed by Lori and Hershel.

"Look what I found, dad!" Carl triumphantly held up a bunch of keys. "Got it off what seemed like a guard." It was almost impossible for Rick's smile to grow even bigger. "Oh, this is great! You are great! You all are!" he almost screamed.

He scratched his neck as if he almost couldn't believe it, and rested his hands on his hips as he looked around. "I couldn't have done it without any of you." He continued, softer now.

Daryl grunted. He wasn't made for this sentimental shit. "It's fantastic. Now, we gonna go in or what?" he said. Hershel shot him a warning look, but he just shrugged and stalked off to the car. He swung a few bags around his shoulders and walked inside. Everyone grabbed some of their stuff and followed him inside, not paying attention to his grumpiness. By now, they all had gotten used to that.

The way to cell block C was actually pretty easy to remember, so they arrived in no were nine cells downstairs, and the same amount upstairs. After a few ooh's and aah's, everyone started picking out cells to sleep in. He looked around and saw Maggie and Glenn pushing another single bed into a cell, making a double bed. Daryl snorted and glanced over at Carol, who was talking to Beth.

"No, just pick out whichever cell you want, I'll wait until everyone has found one," he overheard her say. He shook his head almost invisibly. The woman was too kind sometimes, she always put others first before herself. He knew she had learned to stand up for herself after Ed had died, but still she almost never did so. He figured it was just not in her nature. He watched Beth happily smile at Carol before she put her bags in the cell next to Hershel's. Suddenly she turned around and looked him in the eye. He wanted to look away, but knew it was too late, so he just forced a small smile as she walked over to him.

"Did you already pick one?" she asked. "Naw," he answered, "I'm not really preferring anythin' so I guessed I'd just wait for the others. You?" He lied, he actually preferred sleeping in a cell next to hers, hell, he preferred sleeping in a _bed _next to hers . But there was no way he could tell her that, of course. She looked at him as if she could read his mind, and smiled.

"I think I want to sleep upstairs, it's more quiet there," she said.

He looked around and saw that everyone had chosen a cell now, with a bag placed on every bed. He noticed Rick had stolen Glenn and Maggie's idea, and had pushed another bed into one of the cells for him and Lori. "Looks like yer' wish got granted, unless ya want to sleep on the ground," Daryl said, jerking his head in the direction of the two leftover, now empty cells.

"It sure does look like that," she winked.

"What was that supposed to mean?" he frowned.

"What?" She asked, obviously trying to stifle a laugh.

He looked at her searchingly before he cracked a smile and swung his crossbow over his shoulder. "Nothing. Here, lemme carry yer' bags."

He dropped her bags on one of the beds and walked past her to his own cell. He gently placed his crossbow against the wall, put his bag on the ground and finally slumped down on the bed where he runned a hand through his hair.. When he looked up, he saw Carol standing in the doorway, staring at him. "What?" he said, his voice a little more gruff than he had intended.

"What?" He repeated, a little louder as she didn't reply, "What is it?"

Suddenly she jumped, "Oh sorry, I was lost in thought for a minute." She scanned him for a few seconds before continuing, "God, you're dirty. Wait here." She disappeared immediately.

What? He looked down at himself, and there was no way he could deny it when she came back. His hands and clothes were covered in blood and dirt, and his face probably looked exactly the same. He leaned his back and head against the wall and closed his eyes for a second. When he reopened them, Carol was standing right in front of him. "Damnit woman, where did ya learn to walk so silently?" he said, trying to sound annoyed.

She chuckled, not paying attention to his tone. "Here," she said, handing him a bowl and a bottle of water, "Hold this." He threw her a surprised look but did as she said. She grabbed a cloth from her back pocket and sat down on her knees, next to him on the bed. She took the bottle back from him, unscrewed the cap and poured some of the water in the bowl before putting it on the nightstand. She dipped the cloth in the water and lifted it to his face. Before it could touch him, he pulled his head away.

"Whadya think yer' doin'?!" he grunted. He wasn't going to let her wash his face, what the hell was she thinking? She wasn't his – oh. Suddenly he understood. She just needed someone to take care of, now that Sophia wasn't.. here anymore. He sighed and looked her in the eyes. She had a sad look on her face. "I- I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I just.."

He placed a hand on her knee, "It's okay, I understand. And yer' right. I am dirty as hell," he said, with his usual crooked smile. He held the bowl in front of her. He still surprised himself sometimes, and judging from the look on her face, he wasn't the only one that was surprised. She gratefully returned his smile and dipped the cloth in the bowl again before carefully running it across his face. He closed his eyes and just let her have her way. He felt her hand lifting up the hair on his forehead while she used the other hand to clean his face.

Then both her hands disappeared and he opened his eyes. She grabbed his hand, holding it on her lap while she dampened the fabric again and ran it across his arm. While she was busy, he got a good look at her. He had never really seen her from this close, except the night that she had kissed him, but it was dark at the time. He noticed a few wrinkles, but that didn't make her any less beautiful.

"How old are you?" He blurted out. She looked up to him immediately and hesitated visibly for a moment before answering his question. "I'm not sure anymore. Forty-two. Maybe forty-three already. Hell, I could be sixty, I've lost track of time a long time ago." She smirked. "You?"

"Thirty-eight. Or thirty-nine. Fifty-six, maybe," he chuckled. She laughed and gave him the cloth, "Here. I can't reach your other arm from here," she said. He quickly washed his other arm and dropped the cloth back in the bowl full of now black water.

"I eh, I don't think ya should use that water no more. Sorry." He said.

She smiled, "It's okay, I'll go clean myself at the bathroom, I want to change my clothes as well."

"Yer' not goin' alone, it's not safe and Rick won't allow you anyways. No one goes anywhere alone."

"I know. I'll take Maggie and Beth," she replied, "I'm sure they'll want to clean up a bit too."

She touched his knee for a second while they looked at each other before she stood up, grabbed the bowl with the cloth in it and the bottle of water and left him alone.

About an hour later – he just guessed of course – Carol had cooked dinner. Powdered potatoes and some dried meat, since Daryl haven't had the time to hunt yet. They only had one table with three chairs, so everyone just ate wherever they wanted. He leaned against the stairs as Carol handed him his plate, and he gave her a quick nod before he took off to his cell. A few minutes later, he heard someone clear her throat. As he looked up, she was standing in the doorway, shifting from feet to feet. "Do you mind if I..? My cell is so quiet." She asked shyly.

"I thought that's why you wanted it in the first place," he said teasingly. She giggled.

"I like the silence every once in a while, but tonight I want some company. But I can join Glenn and Maggie if-"

"No, no, 's fine, c'mere, sit." He interrupted her, tapping next to him on his bed. He saw her grin and couldn't help but smile himself. She sat down next to him, sat back against the wall and crossed her legs in a tailor sit. She rested her plate on her legs while she began eating. He looked at her plate, which had barely anything on it, and then at her body, that had gotten scary skinny. He took a bite of his meat. "Ya need to eat more," he said, pointing at her with his fork.

She looked up to him, "What? Why? It's not like we have a lot of food."

"Still. Rick thinks the prison fell early, so there's a big chance there's still a whole bunch of food here somewhere. Yer' gettin' too thin."

She looked at her plate for a second. "I'm fine for now. I'm not that hungry anyways."

After a few minutes they were both done, and Daryl licked the grease off his fingers before he took the plate from her lap, put it on his own and placed them both onto the nightstand.

When he turned back to her, she started to smile. "..What?" he asked.

"You've got.." she started, pointing at her own face. He turned slightly red and brought his hand to his mouth. "Yes.. No, a little to the left. No, left. Daryl, that's not left, that's right!"

She burst out into laughter and grabbed his wrist, pulling him closer to her. "Come here." She moved closer to him as well, and quickly ran her thumb across the corner of his mouth before wiping it off on her pants. He wanted to back away, but couldn't get himself to do it. He looked in her icy blues for a moment, let his eyes slide down to her lips when she licked them slowly, and noticed himself leaning in.

_What's going on what's going on what's going on what's going on?_

She leaned in as well, and his mind went crazy.

_Oh god oh god oh god I'm about to kiss her. I need to pull away. I don't want to pull away, look at those lips. She wants it, look at the damn woman, she's craving it._

Before he could do anything – kiss her or pull away, he hadn't decided yet – her hungry lips crashed into his.


	11. Chapter 11: The death of me

**SORRYYYYY. It's been four days. Four days! That's almost a week. And that's almost a month. A month! But I'll make it up to you with the next chapter, okay? Okay. My new 55-250mm lens arrived today (weeeeee 333), so I was really busy shooting pictures, and I had a lot of stuff to do for the past couple of days. This is a small chapter, but I really felt like finishing the kissing scene, hehe. The next one will be longer, so keep that in mind! Just be patient, because I really have a lot to do these days. Sigh! Oh, and last but not least: Please enjoy! :) Megan**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or it's characters.**

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Oh god. She was kissing him. She was kissing Daryl Dixon. Carol could feel she overwhelmed him – hell, she overwhelmed herself. But he almost immediately cupped her face, and pulled her closer into him.

All the other sounds faded away as he trailed the warm tip of his tongue softly over her bottom lip, as if asking for entrance. She parted her lips and moaned softly as he deepened the kiss. She felt his hot, wet tongue slowly exploring her mouth, and she couldn't help but tremble as it met hers.

Then he abruptly broke the kiss, but kept brushing his thumbs over her cheeks, and looked at her for a second. "Fuck," he mumbled under his breath. "Fuck, Carol."

She looked at him searchingly. _Please don't stop. Please._ But before she could say anything, he got up from the bed, pressed her down and places himself on top of her in the blink of an eye. She let out a small squeal in surprise, but it sounded muffled as his lips covered hers again.

Where he had been gentle and slightly hesitant before, it was now more rough, and she couldn't say she didn't like it. She let her fingers run through his hair, grasping it tighter as he suddenly grazed his teeth across her bottom lip before slowly starting to suck on it. The sudden movement caused her to moan, and she grinded herself against him, unaware of the fact that she was doing so until she received a low groan in response while he pressed himself harder onto her. He slowly slid his hand under her shirt, tracing his fingers over her stomach ever so lightly.

"Damnit woman," he moaned into her mouth. He pulled back just a little, brushing his lips against hers, "You'll be the death of me." Suddenly, far away, she heard footsteps on the metal stairs. Quickly she pushed him off of her and sat up, still panting while trying to pull a neutral face. Just seconds later, Carl stood in front of them.

"Oh, there you are," the boy said to Daryl. "My dad wants to talk to you, make plans for tomorrow and stuff."

Carol glanced at Daryl. His cheeks were slightly red, so were his lips, and his hair sticked out in different directions. She managed to stifle a giggle, and Daryl answered, "I'll be there in a sec."

Carl nodded, but shot them both a quizzical look before he turned around and left them. Daryl turned back to her and she immediately saw he was his old, slightly shy self again. "Thank god ya heard the kid," he grunted. She sent him a smile, and he slowly stood up, grabbing the stacked plates on his way up. "Well, I eh, I gotta get goi-"

"Wait!" She interrupted him, and stood up as well. She quickly brushed his hair down using her hands. "There. You looked kind of.. wild." She grinned. His lips curled up into a small, almost unnoticeable smile and gave her a quick nod before walking out the door.

* * *

"Ah, there you are. About tomorrow.."

Daryl put the plates on the pile of plates the others had made in a corner and sat down on the other side of the round table, facing Rick. He tried to listen, but his thoughts kept drifting towards Carol. Her lips were so soft, and they tasted delicious. He was surprised by his own reaction, but even more surprised that she never pushed him away. In fact, she pulled him even closer, like she wouldn't survive if there was any part of her body not covered by his own. He was never this confused in his life.

"And that is where you.. Daryl? Are you even listening?" Rick frowned. Daryl looked up to him.

"What? I, eh, sorry, I'm eh, tired! Yea, tired. Real tired." He said, continuing with an exaggerated yawn. What the hell was he doing? He knew by the look on his face that Rick was thinking the exact same thing, and he sighed. "Sorry. Didn't sleep very well last couple of nights. What were ya sayin'?"

Rick's eyes scanned his face, and Daryl involuntarily brushed his fingers past his still tingling lips before he repeated himself, a little more gruffly. "Rick, what were ya sayin'?"

"I was telling you about my plans for tomorrow," the sheriff said while scratching his chin. "When we clear out the next part of the prison. It's way too big to do all of it in just one day, so we'll clear it section by section. I found this map," he tapped on an emergency evacuation map, "and this is what we're gonna do. We take Glenn, Hershel and T-Dog, and go through here first." He said, tapping on the door that was nearest to the red dot with 'You are here' above it.

"Then we follow this path," his fingers traced a dashed line he had probably just drabbled on there, "until we get here." He said, now resting his finger on what appeared to be a storage room. "I think there's still plenty of food, supplies, medicines and ammo there, so it would be great if we found it. Is everything clear?"

"Clear." Daryl answered seriously. "When we leavin'?"

"Early. I'll let you know in the morning. You're always up early anyway, so don't worry about it."

Daryl inspected the map once more, before getting up. "Oh and Daryl?" he heard behind him. He turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Keep your wits about you."

A small crooked smile appeared on his lips, and he nodded before going back upstairs.

When he arrived at his cell, it was empty, and he found himself being kind of disappointed. He shook it off quickly, unbuttoned his shirt and his fingers fumbled with his belt as he was lost in thought once again. He grunted as he caught himself thinking about Carol.

Tonight I can think about her all I want, but tomorrow I need to focus, or she'll _actually _be the death of me, he thought to himself, before closing his door and crawling into bed.


	12. Chapter 12: Blood

**Alright, time for a longer chapter. I hope you guys like it! Megan**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or it's characters.**

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When he woke up, he rubbed his eyes and looked around him. The first rays of sunlight lit up his cell slightly through the small window. It was still entirely quiet, except for the few birds outside, singing like the world had never gone to hell. He hadn't slept much with his mind being filled with dozens of things. The walkers inside the prison, whether or not they would find anything useful, Carol.. Especially Carol. The look in her eyes last night, it freaked him out. And the fact that they had kissed, that she kissed him first – again. Maybe he was wrong, maybe she _did _want something from him. That she felt something. And that thought, those few words, it scared him to death. Whatever that something was, he felt it too, and he surely didn't want that. All this time he had kept a safe distance from the group, and it had worked perfectly for everyone, but stubborn little Carol had to crawl right under his skin. God, the power that woman had over him.. If she'd ask him to carry her around all day because she was too lazy to walk, he'd happily obey.

The sound of someone rummaging downstairs disturbed his thoughts. He got up, got dressed, grabbed his crossbow and started walking towards the sound. While passing Carol's cell, he slowed down a bit and peeked inside real quick, seeing she was still fast asleep, with one leg uncovered by her blankets. He smiled to himself while he picked up his pace again. Once downstairs, he saw Rick with his back turned to him, making coffee. "Make that two."

Rick turned around right away, but relaxed when he saw Daryl standing there with his characteristic crooked smirk. "Maybe the walkers already left, looking for food elsewhere," the cop said out of nowhere, probably already thinking about it since they arrived here.

"Don't get yer' hopes up," Daryl answered. "Damn place is probably filled with 'em."

Rick nodded and let out a sigh. He knew. He just wanted to believe it wasn't true. Who wouldn't? It's not exactly a normal situation when dead people have taken over the world, eating everyone that's in their way, wiping out the human race – well, the _living _human race.

Rick handed him a cup of instant coffee, and sat down at the table with his own. Daryl joined him, placing his crossbow carefully against the wall, and together they studied the map with Rick's drabbles on it in silence, nipping from their hot coffee every now and then. After a few minutes Glenn joined them, and within 15 minutes T-Dog, Hershel, Maggie, Carl, Beth and Carol had come out as well. Lori stayed in bed, and Daryl overheard Hershel say the morning sicknesses would probably not stay for too long anymore. That's too bad, Daryl thought to himself, they reduced the woman's yabbering to a minimum.

After they went over the plan one more time and ate the breakfast Carol had made for them, they all stood up. Daryl picked up his crossbow and swung it back over his shoulder, and strapped a knife to his leg, the same knife Carol had killed her first walker with. They all agreed they wouldn't use their guns unless absolutely necessary, because the shots would echo through the whole prison, drawing only more walkers towards them. So they all had their own knife, plus a flashlight and a weapon of choice. Rick had a small hatchet, T-Dog had his axe, Hershel a crowbar and Glenn had attached an extra knife to a baton he had found.

When he turned around to bring his plate to the 'kitchen' – which was actually just a corner they had placed the gas rings – he almost bumped into Carol. "Jesus Christ woman, are ya gonna keep sneakin' up on me like that?" he huffed. She chuckled. "Sorry. Here, let me take your plate." She said, acting like nothing had happened between them, like he didn't lay on top of her while she was grinding herself against him less than twelve hours ago. She grabbed the plate before he could even hand it to her himself, and he heard Rick's voice booming through the cellblock. "Guys, are you ready? I want to leave!"

He already started to walk away when he felt her small, warm hand on his arm. "What is it? I gotta go," he mumbled, trying to get that image of last night out of his head. "I know. Just.. stay safe, okay?" she said softly. He eyed her for a second before giving her a quick nod and hastily followed the rest that was already on their way, ignoring the questioning look Carl shot him.

He caught up with the group of men within seconds, and took in his place next to Rick, because he was the only one that could kill walkers from a distance with his crossbow. They opened the door they had barricaded before, and stepped through. As soon as the door closed behind them, it was completely dark around them. They all quickly turned their flashlights on, looked at each other and continued their way, holding up their weapons, ready to kill.

The first moans were heard within just a few minutes, and when they turned around a corner, there were two walkers stumbling towards them. Daryl took the closest one out with an arrow, and T-Dog decapitated the other one with his axe. "Alright, good job guys. This way," Rick instructed.

When they turned around another corner, there was a whole horde coming their way, instantly picking up their pace as they smelled a fresh meal passing by. "Oh fucking hell," Daryl shouted, "Go! Go!" He walked backwards as he shot three walkers right between the eyes, and then quickly followed the rest that had already started running the other way. They were much faster, so maybe they could shake them off and go around it to find the storage room.

He loaded his crossbow again while still running, and shot a stray walker that was coming from a side corridor and almost grabbed Hershel. "Thanks!" he shouted, panting heavily. "Damn old man, thought ya were in better shape than that," Daryl yelled back. He saw how Rick opened a door in front of him and quickly pushed everyone inside. He looked behind him and saw that the herd hadn't turned around the last corner yet, so he jumped through the door and Rick closed it as fast as he could.

He pointed his flashlight at T-Dog and Glenn, which had just killed two walkers that were probably stuck in this room, and now raised their thumbs, which he figured meant 'All clear'. Then he heard the horde passing through, and they all held their breath as they listened. The groans and grunts echoed through the dark halls, making it sound even louder. As it was clear that they weren't spotted, Rick pulled out the map and shone his flashlight on it. After a few minutes, when the moans had almost disappeared, he showed it to the others. "I think we're here," he whispered, tapping his finger on the map, "we haven't gotten too far away. In fact, if we walk back through here," he continued, tracing another path with his finger, "we can get to the storage room in one straight line, and go back the way we intended to."

The others nodded. "Okay guys. Stay alert and stay quiet. We don't want that horde coming back. When I say run, you run, got it?" whispered Rick. He held his ear against the door, listening for any moans or shuffling sounds. He seemed satisfied and slowly, carefully opened the door just a bit. He peeked through the small opening, but everything seemed safe.

"Okay, it's clear now," he said, "Run!"

He started running immediately, and they all followed his example and broke into a run. Daryl swung his crossbow over his shoulder and grabbed his knife, because he had already wasted too many arrows. They all ran as fast as they could, only passing around 5 walkers which they took out easily with the adrenaline pumping through their veins.

Rick shone his flashlight on a sign that said 'Storage', ran towards it and pulled the doorhandle. Nothing. It was locked. "Fuck! I forgot the goddamn keys!" he yelled, kicking against the door. "Rick, what the hell. Stop screaming! I've got them right here." Glenn hissed. He took the key ring out of his pocket and opened the door quickly. As everyone was inside, he closed the door behind them.

Rick looked at the Korean boy, scratching his neck. "Sorry. I lost myself there for a second. It was very smart of you to bring the keys," he said politely. Glenn nodded, "It's alright. Now let's see if there's anything useful in here."

When they looked around the room, their smiles became as bright as the flashlights they used to light up the room. There were metal shelves everywhere, full of food. A lot of stuff had expired a long time ago, but luckily they also had tons of cans with powdered eggs, powdered milk, powdered potatoes, canned fruit, vegetables and soup, bottles of olive oil, oat meal, boxes of rice, salt and even a few jars of honey.

"We hit the jackpot, baby!" T-Dog cheered. They quickly loaded up the few bags they had brought. "We'll leave the rest here and pick it up later," Rick said. "Glenn, would you lock the door again so no unwanted guests can come in and bump into the shelves or something like that?"

As they stood outside with their heavy bags and Glenn had closed the door, they suddenly heard the moans again. "Oh shit, I almost forgot about those fuckers," Rick sighed on a soft tone. Keep your wits about you, he said yesterday. Well, maybe he should have followed his own advice, Daryl thought to himself.

According to the sounds they were already close – too close. They started running again, but the heavy bags slowed them down drastically. The first walkers had already turned around the corner and growled loudly as they reached their bony fingers out to them. "Those assholes are walking in circles!" Daryl yelled over the noise. They were getting closer fast, and Rick and Daryl exchanged looks for a moment. Then they dropped the bags and pulled their knife and hatchet out, followed by Glenn and T-Dog with their axe and baton with the knife attached.

They ran towards the large group of living dead, weapons raised, aiming for the heads. Daryl had already slammed his knife down the skull of his fifth walker, when he heard a loud scream. He turned around for a second to see T-Dog lying there in a puddle of blood with a walker on top of him, chewing on his shoulder already. He killed the walker immediately and pulled it off of him.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," T-Dog whispered, looking at Daryl with big eyes.

"Cover me!" Daryl shouted to the others, while scanning the rest of T's body. His leg was twisted in a strange angle, there was no way he was going to be able to walk on that leg. Then, out of nowhere, another group of walkers came from the same direction as the other one just came from. "Oh fuck," Glenn yelled. "There are too fucking many!"

Daryl looked down at T-Dog, whose cheeks were wet of tears and blood. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, he had absolutely no idea what he had to do. Or actually he had, he just didn't want to do it. He slowly stood up and pointed his gun at T-Dog's head. "No!" the bleeding man suddenly screamed. "Go now, leave me!"

"What, are ya kiddin' me?!" he yelled back.

"Just run man, I'm giving you a head start!"

The first walker arrived at his leg and ripped a large chunk of flesh out of it. He winced and let out a bloodcurdling scream again, and Daryl slammed his knife right in the walker's right eye.

"Now go!" T-Dog yelled. "GO!"

Daryl looked around to the others. "We have to go, Daryl," Hershel said, and grabbed his arm. He pulled his arm free and stalked off, followed by Rick, Glenn and Hershel. He grabbed a few bags and started running, trying not to hear the screams that were getting louder and louder, the sounds of bones breaking and flesh being ripped off a body. He just ran and ran, until he got to the door where they had come from, and busted through it. The others were right behind him and he closed the door immediately, and barricaded it again.

The screaming had stopped now, and he took a deep breath before walking to the cell block again. When he arrived, the other members of the group had gathered around the table, some sitting on the ground. He heard them suck in their breath as they saw how they were all covered in blood, especially Daryl, who had fresh, red blood all over his hands and face. He dropped the bags onto the floor and ignored everyone while he walked towards the stairs and slumped down on one of the steps, panting slightly.

"Rick? What happened?" Lori asked carefully, looking at her husband. Then it hit her. "Where.. Where is T?"

Maggie and Carol covered their mouths with their hands at the exact same time, it would have looked funny if their friend didn't just get eaten alive.

"We came across a small horde," Glenn said, staring at the ground. "There was nothing we could do."

"I could have shot him," Daryl grunted, looking at the blood on his hands. Rick turned to him. "He didn't want you to. You did the right thing."

He looked up, straight past Rick into Carol's eyes. He could see the confusion and fear in her eyes, mixed with big salty tears that started to well up. When she met his gaze, she walked up to him and sat down next to him, not caring what anyone thought of it. "Tell me what happened," she whispered.

Rick turned his back to them and went to comfort his wife and son, and Hershel and Glenn went to Maggie and Beth, obviously trying to give him and Carol some privacy. Suddenly, he realized something. They weren't crazy, they knew there was something up between them. Hell, T-Dog had already even asked about it weeks ago. Or maybe just days ago, he wasn't sure.

"Daryl?" he heard next to him. Oh right, Carol. "I don't wanna talk 'bout it. Maybe later," he mumbled. When he looked at her, he saw a tear rolling down her cheek. He looked around to see if no one was watching – no one was – and wiped his hands off on his pants before quickly wiping it away.

"It's gonna be okay, ya hear me?"


	13. Chapter 13: Flashlights and watchtowers

**I'm so sorry for letting you guys wait so long! There's just a lot going on right now, and I didn't have any inspiration at all. But today I sat down in the garden with my laptop, the sun was shining, the birds were singing.. And suddenly it just came to me! So I hope you guys enjoy this part, and I'm going to try to put up the next chapter as soon as possible! :) Megan **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or it's characters.**

* * *

It had been a rough day. The men had scrubbed the blood off their bodies and the women emptied all the bags, but nobody was really happy with what they had brought back, they would have rather seen them bring back T-Dog.

After they had placed everything with the rest of their supplies and food in one of the empty cells, everyone went outside to the yard. Even though they didn't want to go back for his body because it would be too dangerous and it was probably already gone anyways, they all agreed when Beth had said he deserved a grave, so that was what they were going to do.

The men dug a hole with some shovels they had found, where they placed the few belongings he always kept with him. Then they all threw some soil on it, just like a real funeral, before closing the hole. After a few words from Rick, everyone got inside.

Carol had been watching Daryl closely, but while everyone cried, he kept a straight face. She had seen the sadness in his eyes when they came back without T, but now even his eyes were blank. She could usually read him like a book, but now he looked more like a lifeless doll than an actual human being.

The rest of the week he created a distance between him and the rest of the group. When anyone dared to talk to him, they were just being snapped at, so Carol just decided to leave him alone for a while. Rick and Glenn had made shifts for everyone that would take watch, the first one was for Glenn and Maggie, who left immediately to one of the watchtowers. Daryl had offered to take watch every night – or actually, he just told them in his old angry tone, not taking no for an answer. Then he left to his cell.

Carol walked up to Hershel, who was sitting on his bed, holding something black in his hands. As she got closer, she saw what it was. "Is that a book?" she asked with big eyes. The man looked up to her and smiled. "Found it under my mattress.. It's kind of interesting."

"What is it about?" She asked. She loved books. She used to read them every day, back when she was with Ed, melting into a dimension without her abusive husband, wishing that one day she would wake up as one of the characters in another world. But now that she finally _did _wake up in another world one day, it was nothing like what she had imagined. She had read almost every book that was out there, but never one where the dead had come back to life. She preferred happy endings.

She remembered that first day of the outbreak like it was yesterday. She was upstairs with Sophia, when the phone rang. It was Julia, the only friend she had left. Ed didn't want her to have friends or go out, but Carol called with her almost every day when Ed was at work, and they would laugh for ages. But that time, she didn't laugh. She just screamed, and Carol only understood a few things. "Oliver.. Dead.. Leave.."

Oliver was her husband, and, she figured later, had been bit. But she couldn't ask any more, because a blood curdling scream sounded, and then it got quiet. When she wanted to call 911, Ed dragged her and Sophia downstairs to the car to leave Georgia, because apparently it had been on television already.

"... And now the little boy is stuck in a tree, so I don't know whether they are going to find him or not."

She nodded, pretending she had listened to every word he said and was now thinking about it.

"Do you like to read?" he asked. "I love it," she answered. "I always felt like the main character while I was reading.. And so did Sophia. When she was little, she always wanted me to read The Little Mermaid, every night before she went to sleep. She told me that one day she was going to be a mermaid too – she was so sure of it."

A vague smile appeared on her face as she stared off in the distance, going back to those days for a moment. But then her thoughts got disturbed by Hershel grabbing both of her hands, pressing his book into them and holding them for a moment. "Here," he said, gently squeezing her hands before placing his own back on his lap.

"But you haven't even finished it yet!" Carol protested. "I'll finish it later. I want you to read it first. You'll like it." The old man smiled. He really was too kind. Maggie and Beth were lucky with a father like him. "Thanks," she said with a shy smile. He gave her a quick nod and she stood up, pressing the book against her chest carefully. She promised herself she would read it tonight, before she went to sleep. But now it was time to make dinner.

After 20 minutes everything was ready to eat, and Beth helped her bring everyone their food again. The girl was a real good help, and appeared to really like helping people. Carol picked up Daryl's plate and looked around. Right at that moment he came stalking out of his cell, and walked right past her.

"Daryl!" She called after him, causing him to let out a sigh and turn around.

"What," he grunted, not even on an asking tone. It annoyed her. He had been acting like this all week now, and he was really becoming a pain in the ass, just like back at the camp, almost a year ago. It started after T-Dog died, but she didn't really understand why that caused him to create such a distance between him and the group again.

She placed one hand on her hip and handed him the plate. "Dinner," she answered on the same tone, before turning around and walking away.

She felt actually kind of proud when she sat down with her food on one of the steps of the stairs and watched him walk away, shaking his head. She had never stood up for herself, not even with a small thing such as being talked to impolitely. She knew she had surprised him, talking back the way she did. She also knew he probably didn't like it, but she didn't really care about that. He would come around, she was sure of it.

A few minutes later, Maggie and Glenn came back in.

"So how did it go?" Rick asked, with his mouth half full.

"A lot of geeks are in those woods, but none of them had managed come inside," Glenn answered.

Rick nodded and swallowed his food. "Any signs of survivors? Cars, gunshots, anything?"

Glenn shook his head, and Maggie answered, "Nothing. I'm starting to wonder if there are any survivors left, besides us."

Rick chuckled, "Oh, they're out there, believe me. Let's just hope they don't find the prison. As long as nobody does, we'll be fine."

Carol cleared her throat to get their attention, and it worked. The three of them turned around to face her, and she smiled at them. "I've got your plates here," she said, pointing at the table.

* * *

It had been a few hours since they had dinner, and now everyone had gone to their cells to get some rest. The entire prison was dark and quiet, but Carol was still awake. She was sitting up in bed, leaning against the pillow that she had placed against the wall, the book Hershel gave her in one hand and a flashlight in the other. Normally she wouldn't even think about using a flashlight when it wasn't absolutely necessary, but this place was filled with batteries so she figured it was okay for now.

She had tried to sleep, but couldn't, her mind just wouldn't stop thinking about everything that had ever occurred since the breakout. The death of her daughter and friends, the possibility of other survivors out there, the times she and Daryl had kissed, the way he was behaving now.. Suddenly she realized she hadn't read a word yet, while she was already 'reading' for twenty minutes or so. She sighed and closed the book before getting out of bed. She promised herself she would just go to the bathroom real quick and then try to sleep again.

She didn't want to wake anyone up, so she turned her flashlight off before she arrived at the stairs. She sneaked past the cells and tiptoed around the corner on her bare feet. She turned the flashlight back on, and the first thing she saw were feet. She let out a squeal in surprise, and backed away. While stumbling backwards, she let the light glide over the person in front of her, and she relaxed a bit.

"Ssh, ya wanna wake everyone?" Daryl grunted. "The fuck ya doin' here alone?"

His tone pissed her off immediately. "Jeez, you scared the hell out of me. I had to pee. What are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be up in the watchtower?"

Then she noticed his eyes were narrowed and he was frowning, "Get that fucking light out of my face first, would ya?" he grumbled.

When she realized she was still pointing his flashlight at his face, she couldn't help but grin. "Sorry," she said, pointing it at the ground.

"So what were you doing down here?" she asked. "Had to take a leak as well," he answered.

"Great," she mumbled. He eyed her for a second, but his face remained blank. She decided to keep up with this behaviour for now, giving him a taste of his own medicine. She turned around and took off to the bathroom, ignoring the sound of footsteps behind her. When she opened the door to the stalls, she noticed he wanted to follow her.

"I'm sorry, but I think I can handle it myself," she said, "The men's room is over there."

He mumbled something, and took off.

After she was done, she took a look at herself in the mirror. Her hair had gotten a little longer, and it stuck out in multiple directions. She was only wearing a top and sweats, not even a bra. She quickly splashed some water on her face before leaving the bathroom.

When she opened the door, she instantly saw Daryl waiting for her. He looked up immediately, and jerked his head towards the cellblock. "Ya ready?" he asked.

She looked at him for a second, and then decided something. "Yes," she nodded, and followed him.

When he stopped at the entrance of the cellblock, she walked straight past him outside, towards the watchtower. She didn't look back, but heard his footsteps coming closer quickly. "What do ya think yer' doin'?" She heard behind her.

She didn't answer, but opened the door to the watchtower and climbed the stairs. Once she arrived at the top, she slumped down in one of the two chairs Maggie and Glenn had placed there, and placed the flashlight in her lap.

"Carol? What are ya doin'?" Daryl frowned while watching her.

"Accompanying you. I couldn't sleep anyway," she said. He stood there eyeing her for a second, before sitting down on the chair next to her.

It was quiet for a while, and they both looked outside. Then Carol broke the silence. "I get it, you know."

"Get what?" he asked, still looking outside.

"Why you're so.. angry. Creating a distance. I get it."

"Ya don't get nothin'," he grumbled.

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

He looked at her now. The moment the words left her lips, he turned his head at her, his eyes big in surprise.

"Never."

Now it was Carol's turn to look surprised. "What?"

"Never," he repeated. "Why'd ya think that?"

"You're acting.. strange. Like you hate each and every one of us. Why?"

He didn't respond to that. Instead, he turned back to the window.

"Daryl, answer me," Carol said, already starting to feel annoyed again. When did she become so easily upset?

Nothing.

"Daryl-" she tried to say, but she got interrupted.

"Damnit woman, it's none of ya business!" He said with a raised voice.

"I think it is," she insisted.

"It's not." He tried to end the conversation.

"They need you, Daryl. The group needs you. Rick needs you," she continued. And then, a little softer: "_I_ need you."

He sighed. "Stop."

"No. I won't stop. You know they need you. You _know _it. They rely on you."

"Stop," he said a little louder.

Suddenly she stood up, causing the flashlight to drop to the ground. "For fucks sake, Daryl!" She hissed.

"I don't want to get attached!" he shouted back.

Well, that came unexpected. "What?" she asked, even though she had heard every word perfectly.

He didn't answer.

"Oh no Dixon. It's too late for that. We are a family. We are _your_ family. This is because of T-Dog, isn't it?" She didn't even wait for him to answer before she continued. "That wasn't your fault. Neither was Sophia." The man winced almost unnoticeably at that name.

"It's too late to 'not get attached'. Even if you act the way you do now, you'll still end up hurt when someone else dies. With the only difference that that person would die feeling like shit because of the way you treated them, and you'll never get the chance to make up for it."

At the last few sentences, she didn't even realize what she was saying anymore, the words just kept coming out of her mouth, louder and louder. When she was finally done, she noticed the sad look on his face.

He looked up at her, and suddenly a small but real smile appeared, and he added, "I never knew ya could yell like that."

She couldn't help but grin. "Me neither."

"Ya know.." He began, looking for words. Carol looked at him questioningly.

"I eh, ya eh, ya were right. I'm sorry for being an asshole." He mumbled.

She smiled, and sat down next to him again. He grabbed her knee and gently squeezed it, and she placed her hand on top of his. "I'm sorry for ye-"

"Ssh!" he suddenly interrupted her.

"Excu-"

"Quiet!" he pointed at the window. He stood up slowly, and walked over to it. "Look, there," he whispered. She peeked over the edge of the window, and then she saw it too.

Three men were walking across the yard. But the weird part was, they came out of the prison's direction.


	14. Chapter 14: Robin Hood

"Are they walkers?" Carol whispered hopeful.

"Naw, they're goin' too fast for that. These guys are alive." He whispered back. He swung his crossbow over his shoulder, "Go get the others, okay? Stay safe. Don't let them see you."

She nodded and tiptoed down the stairs of the watchtower. She had to cross a small part of the yard to get back inside, but if she remained in the dark, she would be fine. She ran as fast as she could to the door, and when she got inside, she first ran to Rick, and shook him awake. "Rick! There are three people in the yard, get up," she hissed, trying not to wake Lori or Carl.

The cop was immediately wide awake, put on his jeans and gave her a nod before he grabbed his gun and ran out.

* * *

As soon as he saw Carol safely inside, Daryl got down with his crossbow loaded and raised, slowly following the people in the courtyard. Luckily he did this all the time while hunting, so he knew how to remain invisible and quiet. Once the men – at least he thought they were men – arrived at the gate, he knew he had them. They had locked the gate, so they were trapped like mice. He got a little closer, and then yelled "DON'T MOVE!" while turning Carol's flashlight on.

The people – they were indeed men – turned around within a second, and pressed their backs against the gate. "Hey man, whassup with the bow? You Robin Hood or somethin'?" The guy on the right said with a sarcastic smirk.

"Shut the hell up," Daryl snarled, "Who the fuck are you?"

At that moment, Rick appeared behind him, and he could hear the others running towards them.

"You heard the man, who the hell are you people?" Rick repeated him, his gun raised.

The guy in the middle raised his hands in surrender, "Hey, hey! There's no reason to point that.. thing at us, man. I'm Axel, this is Tomas and this is Oscar."

Glenn, Maggie, Carol, Hershel and Carl were now encircling them, their guns raised as well. Rick shot a quick look at Carl before looking at Hershel questioningly, and the old man had a guilty look in his face when he said, "He wouldn't stay behind, I'm sorry."

Rick gave him a nod and turned back at the three guys. "Alright, Axel, Tomas and Oscar," he started, pronouncing their names exaggeratedly. "How did you get in here?"

"Robbery," Oscar said. "My brother set me up," Axel followed. "Murder," Tomas shrugged.

Rick looked confused from one to the other. Daryl followed his gaze, and then it hit him. The men were all wearing prison uniforms. "Wait.. So you guys have been in here all this time?" He asked, "How did you survive?"

"Alarm went off and all the cells opened. We wanted to break out, but those.. things were everywhere. After a while we found each other and hid in the cafeteria. And we stayed there, we had nowhere to go. But now that you got rid of them, we're leaving," Oscar said.

"Oh yeah? Where are you going?" Rick asked with an amused tone.

"To the wifey, haven't seen her in four years," Oscar replied, a vague smile played on his lips.

"Ya think yer' 'wifey' is still alive?" Daryl grinned.

"Why wouldn't she be?" he replied with a frown.

"You seriously have no idea, do you?" Rick asked.

"Listen man, cut the crap. What are y'all bein' so mysterious about?" Tomas grunted.

Rick smiled. "Everyone is dead. Those 'things' you saw here, they're out there. Everywhere. It's been months since we've last seen survivors. Look." He pointed at the second gate, where a few walkers were sticking their arms through the holes.

Oscar and Axel turned around to watch, but Tomas kept eyeing Rick. Axel sucked in his breath, "It's true."

"I don't care. I'm leaving," Tomas said, "Open the gate for me, would ya, Robin?" He grinned, flashing dirty, yellow teeth at Daryl. He noticed Carol looking at him strangely, which made him want to smile. But he managed to keep his face neutral, lowered his crossbow and opened the gate.

"With pleasure."

They all walked through the grass towards the second gate, where afew walkers were already groaning loud at the sight of their flesh. Daryl unlocked the second gate, and stepped back. "Go on."

"You ain't gonna kill 'em first?" Tomas asked.

"I could kill _you_ first." Daryl replied coldly.

Tomas shook his head and opened the gate, "Whatever. I can handle 'em myself," he said, kicking a walker to the ground before stepping through the gate. "You comin' or what?" he asked the other two prisoners. "We'll wait for you to handle them, 'kay?" Axel muttered.

Tomas sighed, "Pussies." Daryl quickly closed the gate, and stepped back again, an amused look on his face. He had to admit, the man was a pretty good fighter. He kept kicking around him, punching them in the stomachs and faces, but nowhere near hard enough to damage their brains. There were five walkers around him now, and a few were already coming from the woods.

Suddenly Carol appeared on his side, and she whispered, "Doesn't he know about the brains?"

"How would he know? He's been in here all this time," he whispered back, smirking.

"Hey Robin, that your girlfriend? You wanna come with me, sugartits? I promise I'll take good care of ya.. Real good." Tomas suddenly winked at Carol while fighting off the walkers. Daryl's head snapped up right away, and his first reaction was to turn the flashlight off. It was pitch black now, and everyone held their breaths. He felt Carol pressing herself closer to him. Then, not even seconds after he turned it off, he heard a scream. "Hey man, that's not fair! I was jokin' 'bout your girl, you know that right? Turn it back on! The light! Come on! Oh god fucking fuck damn it TURN THE LIGHT BACK ON MOTHERFUCKER."

"Sure," Daryl turned the flashlight on again, knowing what they were about to see. "Open the gate man! You're crazy, open the fucking gate!" Tomas yelled, blood dripping from his face and chest.

"I can't, you're bit," he said. "What? I said, open the fucking gate, asshole!"

Rick had watched it all with his jaw slightly dropped, but now he stepped forward. "He's right, he can't. You're bit. Good luck out there." Then he turned to Oscar and Axel, who were staring at the former inmate who was now being ripped apart by eight walkers. "So when are you two leaving?

"

Their eyes widened. "What? You can't be serious, man! We ain't gonna survive more than ten seconds behind that gate!" Axel protested. "Please man, please. We'll help you and your group, with whatever you want. Just don't throw us out there! Tomas was sick, he was a murderer, we're not!"

"Pretty harsh thing to say about your friend," Rick frowned.

"Have you seen that guy? He wasn't our friend. He killed three of our friends, that's what he did. We just sticked with him because he could protect us. Please don't throw us out!"

Rick looked behind him at the others, and then back to the two prisoners. "You'll come with us for now. But we're going to lock you in another cellblock for the night. Tomorrow we'll figure out what to do with you."

The two sighed in relief. "Thank you. You're a kind man. Thank you," they mumbled, still stunned by the sight of eight walkers eating a body.

"Can ya handle 'em?" Daryl asked Rick while walking back to the prison.

"Yeah. You did good tonight. Do you want me to take watch now?"

"Naw, I'm fine."

"Alright. So tell me, what was Carol doing up there with you?"

He eyed Rick for a second, who had an amused smile playing on his lips. "Nothing. She just couldn't sleep."

Rick looked at him for a second, and then nodded. Everyone wished Daryl goodnight as they walked past the watchtower, except Carol. "Can I, eh.." She started, shifting on her feet, looking at the flashlight. He handed it to her, and gave her a quick nod. "Goodnight," he said.

She just gave him a smile he didn't understand, and took off. He watched her leave so he knew she would be safe, and opened the door to get back up in the tower.

When he arrived, he looked out of the window. A couple more walkers had come out of the woods, and were now busy eating their meal.

"You killed that man," he suddenly heard behind him. He turned around to see Carol standing there with a few blankets, her flashlight and.. a book?

"It was an asshole," he shrugged. She sat down in one of the chairs, wrapped in her blanket. "What are ya doin' here?" He asked, "Are ya not tired?"

"I don't think I can sleep much after what just happened. Besides, I told you I would keep you company. I keep my promises," she smiled. He looked at her for a second, and then rested his eyes on the book.

"Is that a book ya got there?"

"It is. Hershel found it in his cell, and thought I would like it," she said, brushing her fingers over the cover. Daryl sat down in the chair next to him, and didn't protest when she draped another blanket over him. He wouldn't admit it of course, but it started to become chilly at night. He figured it was fall now, winter was only a few months away.

When he looked back at Carol, she had already started reading, and she didn't pay attention to the world around her. He got an old blue cloth out of his pocket, and started to polish up his crossbow.

After a minute or ten, Carol's soft voice broke the silence.

"Daryl? Why did that Tomas guy call you Robin?"

"I reminded him of Robin Hood."

They probably heard her laughter all the way back in the cells.

* * *

**Not much happened here, but I couldn't just skip it all. How did you guys like it? :) Megan**


	15. Chapter 15: You better run

**I'm sorry that it took me so long. I didn't know what I wanted to do with this chapter.. But the next one will be better, you'll see why.. ;) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or it's characters.**

* * *

When she woke up, it was still pretty dark, but the first sunbeams were already to be seen. The days were getting shorter, so it had to be fall now. Carol looked around her and saw Daryl sitting next to her, his chin resting on his chest, snoring lightly. She stood up quietly, trying not to wake him. When she looked outside, as far as she could see Tomas's body was gone and the walkers were now just staggering around like they used to again.

She grimaced when she cracked her neck. She didn't know when she had fallen asleep, but sleeping while sitting up wasn't exactly the most comfortable way to sleep. She looked over at Daryl who was in the same position right now, and almost felt sorry for him. He was going to be sore when he woke up, but at the same time, he looked so peaceful when he slept, and she didn't want to put an end to that. He deserved his rest.

It was a shame that she tripped over his foot when she walked back to her chair, causing him to wake up anyway.

"What? What did ya do?" Daryl mumbled, narrowing his eyes to the sudden beams of sunlight in his eyes.

Carol chuckled at her own stupidity. "I tripped over your foot."

He looked at her with sleepy eyes and hair that stuck out in all different directions, and then at his foot. He wasn't the brightest one when he just woke up, she thought to herself with a grin. "Oh.. kay," he said softly, his eyelids dropping again.

"You shouldn't be taking all these night shifts. You can't even keep your eyes open! You need to rest, go back to your cell, I can keep watch now," she said.

He kept his eyes closed but mumbled, "I ain't leavin'."

She smiled, and sat back down next to him, pulling his blanket straight. "Sleep."

He put the backrest of the chair further back, still keeping his eyes closed, and made a sound she couldn't decipher. Then he lifted his arm up, and moved it towards her until he felt her body under his fingers. He laid his hand on her leg, snuggled himself in the blanket and then relaxed.

Carol watched it all happen with a smile. He probably wouldn't remember this when he woke up later, but it was still really sweet, especially for someone like Daryl. She figured her little rant last night had gotten through, as he hadn't snapped at anyone last night – well, no one from the group, at least – and had that look in his eyes again when he looked at her.

She loved that look. She didn't know what it was or meant exactly, but still, she loved it. It seemed like outside was peaceful for now, just a couple of walkers outside of the gates and no signs of any survivors, so she picked the book up off the ground. Last night she found out it was pretty interesting, so she flipped the pages until she found the one where she had stopped, and placed it on her lap. She used one hand to hold the book, and the other one she had gently placed on top of Daryl's. She let out a sigh and started to read.

* * *

"I want you to check out that prison tomorrow morning. There should be a lot of supplies left there."

"Why not t'day?"

"Because I need you today. Milton needs some more biters for an experiment. I want you to go get them with Martinez. Alive. So watch out with that bayonet thing, you hear me?"

Merle laughed sarcastically. "Alive? I thought ya needed 'em dead, boss? Enough livin' ones here in town."

The Governor sighed. "Just go get them, would you?"

"A'ight, a'ight, got it." Merle rasped while walking away. "That was funny though. Man ain't got no humour," he continued under his breath as he strode outside.

* * *

When he woke up, the sun was shining bright through his eyelids, and he heard two people whispering on his left.

He recognized Carol's voice immediately. "Thank you. I'm sorry I didn't come to help you, it's just-"

"It's alright. Are you sure you don't want me to take watch now?" That was probably Maggie.

"I'll be fine. I don't want to wake him up, he was really exhausted."

"He looks kind of sweet when he's sleeping like that," a small, third voice suddenly said.

"I don't look kind of sweet when I'm awake?" He suddenly grunted with a low voice, turning his head to the whispering women. He saw a startled Beth looking at him with big eyes, standing next to Maggie in the rusty doorway of the watchtower. Carol was still sitting next to him, the book laying on her lap.

"What? You do – I mean – you don't – I mean, eh.." The blonde girl stuttered with a desperate look on her face. He smirked. "Just kidding honey. I know I look sweet as sugar."

Now she looked even more confused at his sudden dry humour. She had opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out and she just stared at him sheepishly. Maggie chuckled. "Come on Beth, let's go eat breakfast." Daryl noticed the thankful look Beth shot her older sister before they turned around and left, and chuckled.

"Poor Beth," Carol giggled.

"Poor me. Telling me I only look sweet when I'm asleep," he grinned.

Suddenly she placed a hand on his scruffy face and laughed. "You always look sweet. Happy?"

He looked into her bright blue eyes, and forgot what he wanted to say. Instead, he saw her face getting serious and felt her hand slowly slide to his neck, pulling his face closer to hers. His mind went crazy, but he decided to just ignore it and place his hand on her hip as he leaned in. But right then, the door opened again, and they both jerked back as fast as they could from surprise. "You can- Oh! Am I.. interrupting something?" Maggie asked with her eyes so big Daryl thought they would explode. He saw Carols cheeks slowly turning red, but nevertheless she smiled at Maggie like nothing had happened.

"No, you're not. What were you going to say?"

The girl slowly looked from Carol to him, and then back at Carol. "You can eat breakfast downstairs. Rick wants the whole group downstairs when he's going to talk with those inmate guys."

"So who'll keep watch then?" Daryl frowned.

"No one. It won't take long. Rick didn't like the plan, but he still wants to hear everyone's opinion. Right after it, my father and Carl will keep watch."

"Alright," Carol replied with a smile, and stood up. "Let me just grab the blankets first. We'll be there in a second."

Maggie nodded. "Kay," she simply said before turning around and shutting the door behind her. They both listened in silence until the footsteps disappeared and the second door slammed shut. Carol sent him a bashful smile, and started picking up blankets. Then, with her arms full, she looked up at him. "Could you take the plates downstairs?"

Then, before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed her face and pulled her towards him. The 'Oh!' she let out in surprise sounded muffled as his lips covered hers. He felt the blankets fall on their feet as she wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair, tugging it slightly as he deepened the kiss. He let his hands slide down her shoulders to her hips, and he felt her tremble under his touch, which made him smile against her lips.

He didn't want to push her too far, but couldn't stop himself from letting his fingers slide down further down, softly squeezing her round butt cheeks, pulling her fully against him as their tongues fought for dominance. Reluctantly, she pulled her lips not even an inch away from his. "We have to get to the others," she whispered, panting slightly.

He sighed. "I know. But don't think I'm done with ya yet, woman." He didn't know where that came from, but she seemed to like it as she responded with a soft "Can't wait," before she let go of his hair and grabbed the blankets from the floor. He never guessed she could be this.. he couldn't even think of a word that would fit her right now. He knew he liked this side of her, though. Hell, he liked every side of her.

She walked to the door and startled him from his thoughts. "Are you coming?"

When they followed each other into the cell block, the whole group had gathered around one of the empty cells. Apparently it had already started.

"So why would we trust you? You're inmates!" Rick said with an angry voice. Daryl liked the way Rick had become. He didn't trust outsiders anymore. He was now a true leader, doing everything he could to protect the group. The family. Because that's what they were now. A family.

The one with the moustache, Axo or Axel or something, was clearly the talkative one of the two. The other one just stared at them. "Man, we didn't even do anything bad. I didn't even do anything at all!"

Rick chuckled. "You know, I used to be a cop, before.. Before all this. I've heard this shit over a thousand times. And you know what? In the end, they always end up being the one that did it."

"I'm serious man, my brother sold me out! Wait, I mean, no, he set me up," he stuttered.

Rick shook his head, and then looked back at the man. "Alright, no more bullshit. You wanna stay here? You tell me the truth."

Axel looked back at Oscar for a second, before looking back at Rick. "I robbed a store. With a water pistol. Hid at my brother's place, but he told the police. I swear I only used that water pistol, but those cops didn't believe someone could be that stupid and get away with it-"

He looked up when Glenn chuckled, and continued with a bashful look on his face.

"So they searched the house and found my bro's .38. Said it 'matched the description'. So that's why I'm here."

Rick stared at the man in the cell with disbelief written all over his face, and then burst out laughing. "I've heard about that back at the station! So it's true? God, if those guys could hear this.. A water pistol!"

When he realized everyone else was still quiet, he pulled a neutral face again and focused on Oscar. "Alright. And how about you?"

"Robbery as well. Didn't use a water pistol though. But I was supposed to be released two months after the outbreak of those things. I've already been in here for four years. So practically I'm not even a prisoner anymore?"

"And I'm supposed to just believe that?" Rick frowned.

"Well.. I guess you do." The big man said.

Rick turned to the group. "What do you guys think?"

"Don't trust 'em," Daryl said.

Hershel agreed. "I don't want to put my girls in danger."

"I think we should give them a chance," Carol spoke up.

"Me too," Beth said softly.

"But Beth! They could be dangerous!" Maggie said, nudging her little sister.

"Dale would have given them a chance," the blonde girl said, trying to sound confident. "And daddy gave Rick a chance. He and his group could've been dangerous too. But look where we are now.."

Glenn shot a look at Dale's watch, which he was still wearing, and cleared his throat. "Beth is right. We should at least give them a chance."

"Lori?" Rick asked, looking at his wife who was rubbing her belly with a frown.

"I.. I don't know. I don't want to risk anything with the baby. Or with Carl. But I also agree with the others, they deserve a chance.. But.. my children go first. I agree with Daryl."

Carl looked at his mother for a second. "I don't. I agree with Beth. We should give them a chance. Just like Hershel gave us a chance."

"That makes a tie, then. I guess it's my decision." Rick said, while his narrowed eyes scanned the two men in the prison.

"Alright. You know what? You two can stay for now. But you're not taking watch, or get a gun, and you get locked up every night. And if I ever catch you two doing something I don't like.. You better run. Got it?"

The men nodded quietly. "Well then it's settled," Rick said, and opened the cell.

"Welcome to the group."


	16. Chapter 16: Lust

**Well, this is going to be a.. different chapter. Yeah. Let's call it different. **

* * *

The rest of the day passed quietly. Oscar and Axel hadn't said much to anyone else than each other, besides a soft 'Thank you' when Carol brought them breakfast. The two cells downstairs didn't have beds anymore, so they had to sleep upstairs in the same row of cells as Carol and Daryl.

She had noticed the grimace that appeared on Daryl's face when Rick had informed them about it, and when Carol said it was fine he just grunted something she didn't understand before leaving them, on his way to the watchtower. He had volunteered for the afternoon shift, so he didn't have to take watch that night.

She smiled when she thought about it. He had said he wasn't done with her yet this morning, but she thought it was just a 'in the heat of the moment' thing. The few times she had heard it before was when Ed stopped beating her up because he had to go to work, but this time it was completely different.

She had never expected Daryl to say something like that, and she had never expected that those words would ever turn her on. But they did. The way his calloused hands touched her so gently, and the feeling of his tongue slowly dancing around hers.. It was amazing. And she really meant it when she said she couldn't wait.

The tension between them grew throughout the day. Every time their eyes met, they both couldn't help but smile at each other with a knowing look.

And then it was finally evening.

Carol was almost done preparing dinner for everyone when Rick went to relieve Daryl. While Beth brought Maggie and Glenn their food, she felt a hand slide across her hip and lower back as Daryl walked past her. She shivered under his sudden touch, but smiled when she saw the characteristic smirk on his face when she handed him his plate. The look in his eyes said more than a thousand words, and a warm feeling spread through her body.

At that moment, Beth came back. "Did everyone get their dinner now?"

"Rick didn't get his yet. Besides him, it's just you and me. If you bring this to Rick, I'll make sure you can eat when you get back," she smiled.

The girl smiled back, took the plate out of Carol's hands and left them alone, softly humming a song Carol didn't recognize.

She tried to focus on the plates she was filling, but that didn't go so well with the knowledge that Daryl was still standing behind her, watching every move she made, even though he made it seem like he was only concentrating on his own plate.

When Beth came back, Carol handed her her plate, filled with some of the veggies they had found canned in the storage room, and a bit of dried meat. "Thanks," the girl said with a smile before joining her father in his cell.

Then Carol took her own plate and turned to Daryl, who had almost finished his already. Without saying anything, he walked upstairs. He quickly passed the former prisoners, and slumped down on his bed when he arrived at his cell. Carol, who had followed him without a word, sat down on an old chair, directly facing Daryl. They ate in silence, both suddenly a bit shy, unsure of what to do or say.

"Why'd ya trust those guys?" He finally spoke up, a curious look on his face.

"They deserve a chance."

"That moustache guy creeps me out. And I don't like 'em sleepin' up here," he grunted, placing his now empty plate on the floor.

Carol smiled. "They get locked up every night. There won't happen anything."

She saw his jaw tighten before he leaned back against the wall and licked his fingers. She shrugged, and took another bite of a cooked carrot.

After a while she looked up, and saw Daryl fidgeting with an arrow. When he looked up to meet her gaze, he sent her an unsure smile.

"Do you think we'll be safe here?" She suddenly asked hoarsely, placing her plate on top of his.

"Couldn't be safer. We've got thick walls and locked fences. No walker's gettin' in here." He said resolutely.

"I know.. But what about the living? Other survivors? This is a fantastic place. I could imagine others trying to get in here."

"We can protect ourselves. I've seen you with a gun.. no need to worry, woman." He grinned.

She tried to force a smile, but he saw right through her.

"C'mere," he said with a soft, raspy voice, tapping next to him.

Once she had slowly lowered herself onto the bed, not taking her eyes off of his once, he laid his hand on her knee. "You'll be safe. You always are. Every time I thought you'd.. be gone," he started huskily, "you survive. That last night at the barn, the time with that walker.. You're like a goddamn cat. Nine lives."

She smiled. "All those times you were there to save me, though."

"Then I'll be there the next time as well. Every time." He opened his mouth again to continue, but got interrupted by her lips crashing into his.

* * *

That woman knew to surprise him every time.

He guessed she really couldn't wait, as he felt the tip of her tongue sliding across his bottom lip, begging for entrance. Suppressing a smile, he parted his lips to let her in and gently cupped her jaws.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and softly moaned as they deepened the kiss. That one little sound turned him on more than anything, and he let out a low groan as he pushed her with her back onto the bed, never lifting his mouth from hers.

He let one hand slide down her body, gently squeezing her hip. Then he slightly pulled back. "Goddamn, woman," he drawled, the taste of their kiss still lingering on his lips. He watched her teeth sink into her bottom lip when she looked up at him, her eyes filled with lust. That view instantly drowned out all the other noises beside their soft panting and occasional moans.

He softly brushed his lips across her jaw, and she sucked in her breath as he playfully nipped her earlobe. Her fingers grasped his hair when he slowly kissed his way down her neck, his teeth and tongue grazing the warm, sensitive skin. She let out a soft whimper and instinctively arched her back, grinding herself against him.

He lifted his head back up, teasingly keeping his face inches from hers, until she caught his breath by suddenly grabbing his bottom lip. While sucking it gently, Carol started fumbling with the buttons of his flannels, but it didn't do much besides tickle. Daryl suddenly sat up, causing her teeth to graze his bottom lip as he pulled it free.

He shivered while ripping his shirt open, not caring about the buttons flying off. Then he pulled her up, and pulled her top over her head in one movement. She looked at him in a way she'd never done before, making his already hard dick twitch in his pants.

He took a moment marveling over her beautifully shaped body. She had lost a ton of weight, but still had all the right curves, including the ones that were still covered by an old black bra.

She noticed him look, and reached behind her back slowly. Painfully slow, a teasing smile playing on her lips. But finally she unclasped it, and let the straps slide down her shoulders, exposing her firm, round breasts and small pink nipples. Despite the scars that matched his own, she was absolutely breathtaking.

"Yer' beautiful," he said hoarsely, smiling at the sight of her, only for him to see. She smiled shyly for a second before noticing the bulge in his pants. Then she suddenly sat up completely, grabbed his neck with both hands and climbed on top of him while kissing him fiercely again. He never knew the woman could be such a tease.

She pulled him fully against her, her soft mounds pressing into his chest. He trailed one hand from her lower back along her side, until he felt the soft, round piece of flesh he had been searching for underneath his fingers.

She trembled as he slowly brushed his thumb across the small peak in the middle, making it grow bigger under his touch. She pressed her lips even harder onto his, sighing into his mouth with pleasure, slowly grinding her thighs against his throbbing member. While his tongue hungrily danced around hers, he rolled the hard bud between his index finger and thumb, making her moan softly.

He planted a kiss on the corner of her mouth, and slowly trailed the tip of his tongue across her jaw and neck, making her throw her head back together with a low groan. As he continued rolling her left nipple between his fingers, he slowly flicked his tongue across the tip of the other one, listening to the soft little whimpers that her moans had turned into.

With his other hand he lifted her breast slightly before swirling his tongue around the hard peak again, causing her to grasp his hair tightly in her fists. He let go of her nipple for a second to support her back as he slowly pushed her down again, but kept his mouth attached to the other one while doing so. She pressed herself firmly against his erection while tugging at his hair, causing him to groan involuntarily. "Fuck," he hissed through gritted teeth. He let himself fall to her side, and propped himself up on one elbow, his other arm wrapped around her waist.

When she met his gaze, she smiled at him lustfully. He nipped at her shoulder while sliding his hand down her stomach, arriving at her jeans. "They're in the way," he mumbled, pressing his fingers between her thighs. He knew Carol felt it, even with the thick fabric still separating his hand from her skin.

Within seconds, she had unbuttoned them and lifted her bum as Daryl helped pulling them down. She quickly kicked them off, and now she was laying there next to him wearing nothing but simple black panties.

* * *

**Well.. that didn't go entirely as planned. I don't know what to do now :') I want to stay in character, but even the shyest people can get caught in the moment... right? I think so. So uhm.. I'm now going to think about what to do next.**

**What do you guys want? Full all the way smut, or..? Keep it awkward, with someone disturbing them or something? I DON'T KNOWWWWW, argh. **

**Stay tuned, guys. I'm going to try to upload chapter 17 as soon as possible.**


	17. Chapter 17: Holy shit

His hands trailed teasingly over her stomach, making her tremble under his touch. No man had ever made her feel like this before, and they hadn't even done much yet. And not just physically, he made her feel good. Sexy.

Carol gasped as she suddenly felt his hand slide under her panties, and grabbed his face with both hands to kiss him. Without any effort, Daryl found his way to the sensitive nub that was throbbing in time with her heartbeat, while he flicked his tongue over hers.

She let out a soft whimper against his mouth as he gently rubbed over the exact right spot. Instinctively, she pressed herself against his hand, encouraging him to continue. A low groan escaped his throat, and he slid his hand further down before slowly pushing one finger inside her.

"Oh god," she drawled, her voice thick with arousal.

While he slowly slid his finger in and out of her, he kissed his way down to her neck and she couldn't help but let out a loud whimpery sigh. She felt his teeth grazing her neck as he chuckled.

"Yer' gonna have to be more quiet if ya don't want anyone to hear ya," he breathed in her ear, making her legs tremble and jolts of pleasure run through her body. She wanted to answer, but only uttered a cry as he suddenly slid in a second finger, causing him to smirk. She arched her back, rocking her hips against the palm of his hand, mindlessly trying to get him deeper inside of her.

He panted against her skin, moving himself further down as he swirled his tongue around the hardened peak on top of her breast. She felt his lips wrapping around her nipple, his teeth gently tugging at it while he let her know he was just as excited as she was by pressing his erection against her hip.

After giving her other breast the same treatment, he shifted positions. Slowly, teasingly, he licked and kissed every inch of her stomach, not once interrupting the rhythm of his wet fingers inside her. Then, in one movement, he pulled her panties down with both hands, fully exposing her body. She drew a startled breath, but smiled lazily when she looked up at him.

"Something's not fair," she panted, nodding towards his pants. He chuckled and stood up, licking his fingers in the process. Within ten seconds his trousers were on the floor, and she could see his thickened erection outlined in his boxers, making her suck in his breath involuntarily. He smirked when he followed her gaze, "What, ya've never seen one before?"

She swallowed. "Not like that."

He slowly took off his boxers, smiling at the look in her eyes. He climbed on top of her, and felt her spreading her legs underneath him. He could feel the warm wetness at the tip of his dick, and grunted softly as he restrained himself from immediately thrusting into her. Carol was making all kinds of soft little noises now, her glassy eyes trying to control his mind. _Please, just do it. Now. Please._

He lowered himself to kiss her, slowly, playfully licking her already slightly parted lips until she got mad of desire and nipped at his tongue, greedily sucking it into her mouth. A low groan escaped his throat, and she gave him a smug smile.

She moaned softly as he rubbed his erection across her clit, "Just do it already."

"Not yet," he said, panting slightly, and he moved his body down until his mouth met her entrance. She tried to prepare, but sucked in her breath anyway when she felt his tongue slowly sliding across the opening, dipping it in for a second before moving further up.

He brushed his lips over the sensitive nub before wrapping them around it, giving it gentle little licks until she was practically purring beneath him. He then slid a finger up into her again, making her gasp and press herself closer against his mouth at the same time. God, the things this man did to her..

He wrapped his lips around the little bundle of nerves, and started to suck it gently, his eyes trained on her face the whole time. She clenched a fist around his hair, instinctively pulling him closer. She felt his free hand, the one that he had used to support her bum, slide from under it, grabbing one of her breasts. And that was just it. The proverbial last straw.

It grew deep inside her. As two fingers pinched, rolled and pulled her hardened nipple, another finger rhythmically slid in and out of her, and his mouth sucked, kissed and licked her clit, she let out a loud moan. She writhed beneath him, her walls clenched around his digit, and raw pleasure rippled through her body. He slowly came up on his knees, a smirk on his face as he watched the panting woman laying in front of him with closed eyes and trembling legs, still enjoying the last waves of her orgasm.

As she opened her eyes, she let out a deep sigh. "God, Daryl.."

She lowered her gaze, and smiled at what she saw. Without her saying anything, he instantly knew what she meant. She was growing just as impatient as he was. He crawled on top of her, and kissed her hungrily as she lifted her hips to meet his aching erection.

As he slowly slid himself into her, he felt her suck in her breath under his lips at the same moment a low groan escaped his throat. He lifted his head a bit, scanning her flushed face to see if he had maybe hurt her. Her eyes fluttered open for a second, before she grabbed his face and pulled his mouth towards hers again. He smiled into the kiss, and slowly pressed further until he filled her entirely.

"Fuck," he mumbled under his breath, as he pulled back before slowly thrusting into her again. He felt like he could already come any minute. "Fuck, Carol."

He quickly picked up his pace, their sweaty bodies moving together perfectly, breathing heavily into each other's mouths while their tongues teased each other playfully, lightly flicking in and out.

After only a couple of minutes, Daryl felt his orgasm building deep inside him. He slid one hand between their bodies, circling his thumb around her clit at the same pace he thrusted himself into her with, helping her over the edge for the second time. She whimpered, feeling the almost painful waves begin to crash over her again.

As her walls clenched around him once more, he grunted at the tightness of her. After a few more thrusts, he released himself inside of her with a loud groan. "Jesus Christ," he sighed against her neck.

He carefully slid out of her, and laid on his back next to her. After laying there, breathing heavily while staring at the ceiling for a minute, Carol rolled onto her side and rested her head on his chest while draping her arm around his waist.

"Holy shit."

* * *

**Alright. I'll re-read it tomorrow, get out all the mistakes and stuff. If there are any. I don't know. This chapter made me so tired :') Like I actually just had sex. **

**Welllllllllllll. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I wanted to write more, but I just can't do it anymore. I've already got it all in my head though. :) Stay tuned!**


	18. Chapter 18: Gone

**Small update, because I have a busy week coming up. It's not much, but there's still a lot happening, I think. Oh, and thanks everyone for all the lovely reactions to my last two smutty chapters :)**

* * *

When Carol woke up, it was still early and a bit dark outside. Daryl had already left. His crossbow was gone too, so she figured he had gone hunting. They didn't really need the meat, but he hadn't been outside for a while, only to go to the watchtower every now and then. She knew he didn't like being inside.

She quickly got dressed, got her boots out of her own cell and walked towards the stairs. Suddenly, she heard someone hiss. "Pssh. Hey. Hey lady."

When she turned around, she saw Axel standing in one of the cells, still locked up. "Are you okay?" he asked with a worried look on his face.

Carol raised an eyebrow. "What? I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Why are you asking?"

He shifted on his feet. "Well, I heard sounds last night. A lot of them. You were either in pain or.. you know." He said, grinning at the last few words. She opened her mouth to answer, but he continued. "I knew it couldn't be the latter though. Because you know, you're a lesbian."

Carol placed her hands on her hips. "What?"

"Oh, I'm not judging! I am pro gay marriages and stuff. Your kind of people are just human, just like straight people."

"I'm not lesbian."

Now it was his turn to look confused. "But.. you've got the short hair!" He stuttered, waving at his own head.

She just stared at him now.

"So.. you're not lesbian?"

When she didn't answer, he smirked and leaned against the wall. "My, my. This is interesting."

"No, it's not. Remember what you heard last night?" She grinned before turning around. _Where the hell did that come from?_

"Oh, we're being sassy now? I think I'm starting to like you, miss. What was it, Carly?" She heard behind her.

"Carol!" She yelled as she walked down the stairs with a smile.

* * *

"Fucking walkers," Daryl mumbled as he pulled an arrow out of one's head. They kept screwing up his hunt by scaring off the animals right when he was about to shoot, which was the main reason he had only one squirrel on his belt while he was already outside for at least forty-five minutes.

The other reason was Carol. He just couldn't focus with the image of her, naked, writhing benea- _Shit._ A few birds flew up as he stepped on a twig.

"Jesus Christ!" Daryl yelled while he slammed his knife into the nearest tree. Focus, man. Focus.

He let out a sigh, and turned around. This wasn't going to work.

He decided to just slowly make his way back to the prison and enjoy the smell of the nature surrounding him as he let his thoughts run free.

After almost an hour he could see the large prison towering over the treetops, and unconsciously a small smile formed on his lips. Just as he wanted to step out of the woods, he heard a soft sound. So far away that if he wasn't an experienced hunter, he probably wouldn't have even heard it. But it soon grew louder and louder, so he quickly stepped behind a big tree and kept his eyes trained on the road as the sound of a roaring engine came closer.

After a few moments, he could see a large jeep approaching the prison at high speed. He thought – or hoped – it would just pass by, but it stopped right before it would get in the sight of whoever was taking watch right now. Pretty clever, he thought to himself.

A large man stepped out, and disappeared between the trees. The same trees Daryl was watching him from. He quickly repositioned and held his breath, listening to the footsteps coming closer. Then, after a while, they stopped. He froze when he heard an all too familiar chuckle, only a few feet away from him.

_No fucking way._

"Well, well, well," a voice rasped. "Looks like yer' too late, Gov."

His head felt light, and his body started to tremble slightly.

_It can't be._

"Place 's already taken, 'n poor ol' Merle had to drive all the way fo' nothin'."

_Apparently it can._

"Well. Whoever lives 'ere now 's gonna have some fun later." He chuckled again.

It stayed quiet for the next few minutes, until the footsteps started again, moving away from him. He slowly peeked around the tree, and watched his older brother walk away. His suddenly very big, muscular older brother. He scanned his body further, and rested his eyes on the metal covering around his right arm. "Son of a bitch," Daryl whispered.

And then he just stood there, watching what he'd already seen so many times. Merle walking away from him. The only difference was that he wasn't aware of it this time.

Suddenly, the sound of something shuffling through the cracking leaves startled him, and he turned around to see another walker coming his way. It hadn't noticed him yet, but he had drawn its attention by turning around. It let out a loud groan and picked up its pace.

Daryl quickly grabbed his knife, waited for the ugly bastard to come closer and slammed it right into his eye socket, splattering blood all over himself. "Fucking asshole," he hissed through his gritted teeth. The thing fell down, and he fell with it on his knees, slamming the knife in the rotting body over and over again, together with an endless stream of curse words.

After a few minutes, he looked down at his bloodstained hands, panting slightly. He slowly got up, and looked at the road.

It was empty. Merle was gone. Again.


End file.
